Mark of the Beast
by raresnowcat
Summary: A new member of Akatsuki is forced to hide her identity under the pretenses that she is the Akatsuki's secret weapon. But what happens when she is caught by the enemy? Why do the attractive people always turn out bad? Contains torture/cursing/possibly more. Pein/OC/Zetsu
1. The Escape

Hey everyone reading this chapter :3 This is a story I wrote randomly and decided to put on here for everyone to read. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR THE CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING. (except for Mehio she's my OC)

The girl lying on the bed sighed loudly in boredom, she hadn't had company for two days and it was starting to annoy her. She was pretty; she had short blond hair that curled a little on the ends. Her eyes were dark brown and in some light gave off the impression that her eyes were black. She sighed again and then looked expectantly at the door.

'I should have known that she would be late, probably getting over a hangover like usual.' The girl thought to herself

Tsunade entered the room with her usual smile. The girl stood up from the bed and walked over to greet her.

"Hey," she said happy to see someone.

"Mehio, we need to start training. I don't have time for formalities, besides your going to be learning how to discard poison from the body." Tsunade told her with a grin.

Mehio's POV

_I was her 'apprentice' that very few knew about since the elders forbade it. I was locked away in a room of the hokage's tower, guarded constantly by ANBU. As far as they knew, they were simply guarding important scrolls. _

_The only people I could remember ever seeing were Kakashi, who only visited once a month, so that I had a slight variation in the people I saw, and Tsunade. _

_My own parents had abandoned me to the 3__rd__ hokage's care, once they discovered what I was capable of. Sarutobi had then gone to the elders to ask what should be done with me. All agreed that I was better off left a secret to the world, so no one could use me as a weapon._

"Sure Tsunade lets start the training." I said quietly

_I was treated much better now that Tsunade was hokage, but even still I had never been outside and I only really knew two people. Kakashi didn't really count though, since he just trained me and read his Icha Icha books. Yet I wouldn't complain, since before Tsunade became Hokage, I never saw anyone._

Tsunade knew that I was depressed and sympathized with me, but without the elder's consent I was forced to stay where I was.

Tsunade pulled a mouse out of her pack and injected it with some blackish toxin. The mouse tried to run for a moment and then went limp. Tsunade looked at the creature for a moment and then gave it to me.

I stared at the mouse, slightly shocked that she would use an animal for training someone. Especially someone who didn't know quite what they were doing, yet. I took the mouse and looked at Tsunade quickly, silently asking her how to heal the mouse.

"Gather chakra to your hand and press it to the mouse" she stated. I nodded complying with what she had asked so that she could continue. "Locate the toxin and surround it with your chakra."

I did what was asked and then looked at her expectantly. She looked at the mouse critically and then continued.

"That alone will stop the poison from spreading, but your goal is to extract the venom." She stated

"While still surrounding the toxins with chakara, pull the poison out of the body from the point that it entered from." She continued

I complied and started to remove the venom that was a sickly black. Once I was satisfied that the venom had been extracted completely, I put the poison into the medical container that Tsunade had set down for me.

Tsunade had a proud look on her face that then turned into a quizzical look.

"What kind of poison is that?" she asked expectantly

I looked down at the slime and smelled it. I was a Caller, one who is able to summon any animal in existence, even those that have already passed on into extinction. I knew almost every toxin that could be created from animals, since I used the toxins for my own fighting techniques. So I examined it, looking for signs that would tell me if it was from an animal or not. I came to my conclusion after a few moments of pondering and frowned. The poison looked like it had been ground up, which led me to believe it wasn't secreted from any animal I knew of.

"This is not from an animal." I stated carefully "it's most likely from a plant of some sorts."

She smiled and nodded, happy that I had concluded that in very little time.

"You are correct this is poison from a plant called nightshade, which is highly toxic to humans and animals."

I picked up the mouse gently and used some of my chakara to wake it. The mouse stood up and looked at me and then calmed and settled on my pants.

Tsunade gave me a playful smile and then stood up stretching. Once up she began walking toward a door with a seal on it. Tsunade broke the seal and beckoned for me to follow her. I got up leaving the mouse and followed her down to the room I had been to many times. She watched me as I walked down the stairs, waiting for me to come into the room completely. As soon as I was off the last stair, she charged and the training began.

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At the end of the training I was sweaty and tired, with quite a few bruises on my stomach and arms. Tsunade didn't look much better, perhaps even worse off than I was. I had hit her right in the nose and it looked painful. I moved over to her and healed her nose quickly. I then sat down next to her, ready to sleep off the training. Her eyes glinted proudly like that of a parent.

"I've taught you almost everything I can and there isn't much more for me to teach you now." She paused and looked at me thoughtfully, "I think you may have even surpassed me, in your skills of both medicine and brute strength." she laughed

I smiled, it was nice to be complimented. Especially by those who didn't give compliments often. Kakashi gave an occasional 'good job' from time to time, but Tsunade didn't praise me unless I accomplished something of great feat.

When the 3rd hokage died Tsunade had started training me. I was 7 and her training was grueling and ruff, even the medic training could wipe one out. I was now 15 and had surpassed both of my teachers. I was proud.

Tsunade stood up and started to leave. I followed her out and she reactivated the seal to the training grounds. She waved at me and then left, out of the intricately sealed door that led to freedom. I heard the ANBU guard move into place a few minutes later.

Sighing, I moved to my shower and peeled off the sweaty clothing that was stuck to my skin. After the shower, I put on my pajamas. They consisted of a pair of blue boxer shorts and an old blue shirt I had once used to train in. I went to the small kitchen and looked through the fridge for something to eat. Tsunade had a seal on the door which she showed me how to use. When activated it replenished my fridge. I didn't ask her where the seal got the food from because I honestly didn't care. I made a simple stir-fry and ate on my bed before falling asleep.

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When I woke up Kakashi was rummaging through my fridge looking for food. I growled at him and he turned around to look at me. He just smiled and waved. Unfortunately it appeared that I had slept in, I slapped myself for not waking up earlier. I dragged myself out of bed and started walking to the bathroom to get dressed. Kakashi looked up at me and grinned.

"Nice " he teased.

I glared at him and mumbled 'purvey old man' before walking into the bathroom to compose myself. My shoulder length hair was wild and some of the blond strands were sticking straight up. I sighed to myself and brushed through the mess. I found a pair of clothes for training and put them on. I put on some eyeliner and called it good. When I came out he had half of all my food out on the table. I walked over and grabbed a few things that he had out and ate. He looked up at me and my brown eyes glared at his one visible eye. He stood up lazily and walked over to open up the seal on my training room door.

I quickly put away all of my food, cursing Kakashi for his rude habits. Then I walked over to the door and down the stairs. He looked up at me and smiled. I noticed his happiness and couldn't resist asking why.

"What's with all the grinning this morning." I grumbled

"Naruto is almost done with his training with Jiraiya and Sakura is about done with her training with Tsunade." He looked excited.

"I thought you disliked them?" I said with a grumble.

"Yea, but I kind of miss there stupidity" he shrugged and I rolled my eyes.

Laughing I walked over to the weapons box and pulled out my sword. He watched me, taking out weapons of his own. As soon as I had the sword sheathed on my side, I summoned my other weapon. It was a beautiful wooden bow with a sheath of arrows. The wood was coated in a sheen of clear paint that made it glisten lightly. The arrows were long with blue and red feathers on the end. The sharp tips of the arrow rivaled that of a kunai. I appraised them before doing one more summons.

A huge white tiger with black wings appeared and walked right up to me. The large cat was easily as long as I was and came up to my shoulder. I smiled and he stood up on his hind paws, placing his front paws on my chest. I had to use some chakara to hold him up. He affectionately nipped at my nose and then sat down. Kakashi still hadn't gotten used to this gesture of friendliness and watched in mild fascination.

Lushirio is what this beast was named and he was my familiar. While the animals I usually called where under the control of my eyes dojutsu, Lushirio came off his own free will. He only doing what he wanted to do. I could control him if I wanted, but I preferred not to unless it was necesary, he was my friend and I didn't want to force him.

"So your going to go all out I see." Kakashi stated

"Of course, I only see you once a month." I replied

If only he knew what I had planned. This would be the last time he trained with me, maybe even see me. My thoughts strayed to the plan I had come up with, but quickly moved back to the matter at hand so he wouldn't suspect anything.

I drew my bow and fired the first shot. It grazed his cheek and he pouted.

"I wasn't ready yet."

I smiled, although I was efficient with a sword I was better with the arrows. My aim was dead on and I moved so quickly that it was hard to dodge completely. He pouted a little more and then straightened up.

"Can I use my sharingan since you aren't going to hold back?" he asked

"Sure." I smiled

As soon as he reached up to remove his mask I closed my eyes. It would be harder this way, but at least I wouldn't get stuck in his eye jutsu. I spread my chakra out around me so that I could tell when he came at me. He threw a kunai at me and I dodged, once I felt it enter the barrier of my chakra.

He smiled catching onto my trick. I shot a dozen arrows in his general direction and then moved out of the way of another kunai. Lushirio growled and stood up from his spot. He stalked over to Kakashi and roared. I shot my arrows in the area that I'd heard the noise and heard Kakashi curse under his breath. I had hit him. I moved towards him and pulled out my sword and swung. I missed of course, but his reaction was a little slow, which I grinned at. He was being affected by the poison from the first arrow I'd shot. In a few moments he would be out and I could start my plan.

"What did you put on those arrows?" He asked warily.

"Don't worry you'll wake up in about an hour or so." I smiled, a little hurt that he thought I might try to kill him.

"Crap." He mumbled before I heard him hit the floor.

I opened my eyes and looked him over. His breathing signs were normal so it was ok to leave him were he was. I called Lushirio and we walked over to the chakra sealed door that led to freedom. I had been watching them open and close the door for years. I knew it was rigged and would sound an alarm if tampered with. Recalling the hand signs that Tsunade used, I started with the first of four seals.

When all the seals were deactivated, I reached up to the top of the door and sliced a wire with a kunai that would allow for me to get out, without a siren going off. The door also required a key that I didn't have, so using brute strength I ripped the door right off of its hinges. I walked out placing the door back into place, the imbeciles that would be here in a minute or so to guard the door wouldn't notice the difference. I walked down the hall quickly and opened the window at the end.

Lushirio jumped out and I followed quickly behind him. I had approximately 30 seconds to make it into the cover of the trees. I ran across the roofs and straight into the first tree on the edge of the dense forest. I continued to run until I was a good five miles into the forest. I stopped, and used my senses to tell me if there were any patrols in the area. Finding none I continued running through the trees. I ran around the entire area to confuse anyone trying to track me and then got onto Lushirio's back. He flew up high into the sky to avoid attention.

We would look more like a bird to the naked eye that way. Leaf ninja truly were imbeciles. For them to keep so little guard of the area was not very smart . At the border of Konoha I landed, flying over the gate would cause problems. I stopped and walked over to the side of the gate to study the gate keepers. I used a jutsu which disguised me enough to confuse them.

The jutsu lengthened my hair and changed the color from blond to a dark orange. My eyes became a vivid yellow that rivaled the sun. The clothing I wore was seductive, consisting of a short dress that showed a little more than I usually would have liked. I wore the leaf headband high on my thigh and walked to the gate. The man there studied my body in a perverse manner. His actions made me want to slap him, but I continued on. The gatekeeper didn't even question me, he just watched me leave. Once I was out of the gate I ran into the forest on the other side.

Lushirio came after me a few minutes later, in the form of a small black cat. As soon as he was close enough to me, I reversed the jutsu and we reverted back to our normal appearances. I climbed up on his back and he flew over the trees. About an hour later I deemed it safe to land and have a look around.


	2. Meeting a Plant

Hey, people who read my story :3 (hopefully -_-). Well I've updated, but I haven't really gotten any feedback, which means either my story really sucks or it hasn't been on long enough for people to notice lol. But that's not the point, I just wanted to say hi. Oh by the way I forgot to mention it in the first chapter but those that are wondering, I don't follow the Naruto plot completely. SPOILERS *For example Pein and Nagato are two different people in my story* there are other little things here and there, but you will notice them as you read….. Or don't read, whatever.

**I do not own Naruto or the characters or the plot or anything **(Just Mehio my oc.)

**KONOHA**

Kakashi grumbled, the affects of the drug wearing off but still in affect. He stood carefully, holding onto the wall for support. It took him a moment to recall what had happened, before he was moving as fast as his body would allow to the door. He realized that the seals had been broken and reached for it. the door teetered and started to fall. He grabbed it and then quickly maneuvered around the door.

The guard looked up in surprise and Kakashi glared at him hard telling him to make sure no one went into the room. He sprinted down the hall and up the stairs to Tsunade's office. Shizune looked up at him and noticed his figure, that teetered slightly as though he were drunk.

"Kakashi, Tsunade isn't here right now. She is off training with Sakura at the moment." Shizune said to him slowly, like she was talking to a child.

He looked at her blankly, trying to figure out why she was talking to him like he was a drunken fool. He realized quickly though, that he probably did look like he had just gotten out of a bar. Undoubtedly because of all the wobbling he was doing.

"Where can I find her." He asked in a serious tone

"Uhm…. Well… I like you Kakashi but Tsunade told me not to have anyone bother her." She said carefully

"Shizune, you need to tell me where she is, there is a serious matter that needs to be tended to now!" He said in an exasperated tone that made her jump slightly.

"Fine, but if I get in trouble all the blame is on you." She accused. "Tsunade is at the old team 7..."

He didn't even listen to the ending as he jumped out the window running towards the training grounds he had once gone to so often. After a minute of crossing through people's yards and tripping over children he reached the grounds.

Tsunade threw a tree at Sakura who dodged carefully. The tree nearly hit Kakashi who ran left to avoid the obstacle heading his way. Tsunade looked at him in surprise. She took in his appearance and assumed he had either been drinking or had slept in a garbage can, she couldn't tell. Sakura looked at him and then smiled and waved.

"Hey sensei, what are you doing here…. You look like crap." She frowned at the last statement.

"Tsunade we need to talk about an issue that has arisen." He said slowly

Tsunade frowned and looked upset at the interference of her training. Sakura looked at him curiously obviously wanting to know what had Kakashi so upset. Kakashi noticed her look and sighed in exasperation.

"Jeraiya came out with a new book and I was wondering if you had it since it's not in stores yet." He said giving Tsunade a look that said that the real matter couldn't be discussed here with Sakura. Sakura looked at him in disgust.

"You're such a perv!" Sakura yelled.

"Sakura, you can have a break, go have lunch and meet me here in two hours. I have to deal with Kakashi's nonsense." Tsunade said to her apprentice.

"Okay." Sakura said obviously happy about the break.

Sakura took off in the direction of the village and Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair.

"What's the real problem?" Tsunade asked in a serious tone.

"She's gone." He stated slowly.

"What do you mean she's gone? You were supposed to watch her." Tsunade said in apparent unease and disbelief.

"She hit me with a poisoned arrow while we were training and I realized it to late. I don't know how long I was out, but I'm guessing more than an hour." He said trying to be casual.

"Track her. Get a team together and tell them you're after a missing ninja. We cannot let her into enemy hands." She replied.

Tsunade rubbed her head and sighed. She was already getting a headache. Although she didn't blame Mehio for retaliating it still frustrated her that she would leave.

Kakashi had his dogs round up Kiba, Sakura, and anyone else that might be useful for tracking Mehio. He and Pakun immediately went out to catch any scent of her. He found a trail but it was confusing she had gone in circles to keep trackers at bay from the real trail. He sighed this was going to be a long day.

Ten minutes later of pointless searching and Kiba, Sakura, Neji, and Hinata appeared. He briefed them quickly about Mehio although he left out important details and played her off as a random, dangerous, rogue ninja. He sent out the rest of his dogs and then had his makeshift team search as well.

After an hour of searching Kiba came up to him and said that he had found the real trail but that it ended half way into the forest. Kakashi followed Kiba to the end of the trail. He sighed realizing that she'd taken to the air on that cat of hers. He turned to the rest of the team who had come over shortly after.

"You guys can go back, she's taken to the air and its impossible to track her now." He said in disappointment.

"Wouldn't someone have noticed?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Yea, there's no way she could have gotten past the gates without someone noticing." Kiba finished. Kakashi pondered for a moment and then looked up.

"I knew there was a reason I picked you guys to help." Kakashi said with an eye crinkle.

"Judging by the general direction she was heading in, I assume she headed to the Eastern side, let's check there first." Sakura said with a smirk, obviously happy about her deduction skills.

They moved out heading to the gate. The gate man was snoring and Kakashi looked at the man with unhappiness. Sakura hit the guy over his head and snapped at him for sleeping on the job. The man looked shocked and slightly fearful of the pink haired girl.

"Has anyone passed through this gate in the last couple of hours?" Kakashi asked hopefully.

The man pondered for a couple of moments and then his expression softened.

"Yea, a girl, she was hot… had dark orange hair and a short dress on." The gatekeeper said dreamily.

"Have you ever seen this girl before?" Kakashi questioned.

"No… I would have recognized her." The man said dreamily.

Kakashi sighed there was less of a chance of finding her now if she was out of Konoha's borders.

"Did she have anything with her?" Kakashi asked

"Yea maybe, I think the little black cat that left a little after, was with her" The man said thoughtfully.

That was all he needed to know she had disguised herself and left the village easily. He was about to tell his team to start tracking her when he felt a raindrop hit his shoulder. He looked up as another hit his exposed cheek. Great.

"Hurry start tracking her, we need to get as much information as to where she is before the rain washes all trace of her away." Kakashi instructed.

Everyone moved out of the gates and started tracking but as soon as they rounded the corner, the trail went cold. Kakashi hissed in unhappiness, she was flying again and with the lack of trail and the rain there was nothing more he could do.

"It's ok Kakashi, well find her eventually." Sakura said soothingly to her teacher.

"Come on, let's head back there's no way to track her now and this rain will wash away all traces of her in a few moments." Kakashi said.

They all sighed and turned back. When Kakashi reported to Tsunade, she was understanding of the situation. She looked at him and said that she would have him put up pictures of her for a bounty. If people saw her they would turn her in if there was a good price for her return. Kakashi excused himself and headed home to sleep.

)

**Mehio**

I looked out from the tree I'd taken shelter under, at the rain drops that were falling hard. Lushirio was sitting next to me swishing his tail in agitation for having to be outside in the rain. I laid down and set my head next to him grumbling as well.

I had walked around in the dense forest for an hour. Everything looked the same, and I was pretty sure that I had passed that big ugly rock at least five times. It was frustrating, all that time spent trying to escape and I barely even thought about were I was going.

To make matters worse it had started raining, leaving me under the shelter of a big oak tree. I would have to search more after the rain stopped.

Lushirio scooted over next to me. He closed his eyes and huffed. I laid my head on his broad stomach and got comfortable, watching the rain fall quietly. I fell asleep not long after that.

)

When I woke up the rain had stopped and Lushirio was wandering around stalking birds and the occasional butterfly that would pass over his head. I stretched and sat up. Lushirio wandered off again but I wasn't worried, he would come back when he wanted to. I walked through the forest looking at the wild flowers that grew near the tall oak trees.

It was beautiful outside and I remembered again that this was the first time I had ever been outside and relished in the feel of the breeze and the occasional burst of sunshine that peeked through the tall trees. I wandered for another hour, before I saw a small building made of glass. There were flowers blooming on the inside of it. There was a small house situated next to it.

I was curious, I wanted to look at the garden, but I didn't want to be caught and taken back to the village either. I sighed, curiosity taking over my better judgment, as I walked toward the building of flowers. The door was wide open and I slipped in cautiously. I looked at one of the first plants I came upon, it was strange looking. It was green and had the appearance of a vine but it grew in rings that made it look like a stretched out slinky. It had bright blue flowers growing off of it with red flecks on the inside.

I was tempted to touch it, but with all of the bright warning colors I figured it was probably poisonous. I moved on passing by some of the more common plants that I had already seen or read about in great detail. In the middle of the second row my eye caught sight of the venus fly trap that sat on the desk. There was a vile next to the plant with buzzing flies. I knew that they were for the plant. I moved closer to it for a better look. It was quite beautiful, with its pink color and green spots.

The top was open, waiting for some unfortunate insect to fly into its trap. I picked up the vile containing the flies and watched them buzz around, pondering on whether or not I should take the risk of trying to feed the plant, to quench my own curiosity.

I was so busy pondering that I didn't notice the presence that watched me. I unscrewed the cap and let one of the flies out. I watched it fly over to the plant. It perched on the lip of the plant before crawling farther in. As soon as it touched the floor it realized the trap and started buzzing wanting to escape. The plant oozed a liquid into the center and I watched with fascination as the juices slowly killed the fly. The presence in the back moved next to me and I saw the movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up.

I immediately took a defensive pose, staring at the man in front of me. This person was one of the strangest people I'd ever seen, which wasn't really saying much since I'd only seen two people before him. Half of his face was white while the other was black. He had leaves on the side of his head that resembled that of a venus fly trap and he wore a long black cloak with red clouds. He looked at me and then at the plant. I refocused my attention to the plant, while warily keeping an eye on the plant man. The fly carcass was slowly breaking apart. He watched me as I looked at the plant with curious appraisal.

"The liquid that the plant is secreting are digestive juices that break down the fly, so that the plant can take in the nutrients from it." The man stated

I nodded and returned my attention to the strange man in front of me, who was eyeing me curiously. She did not seem afraid of him, which perked his interest since he was a member of Akatsuki.

"Sorry for trespassing, I was just curious and came to look at your garden… you have some of the strangest plants I have ever seen." I said apologetically to the strange man, while taking a casual step back.

He nodded once before saying anything.

"What village are you from? You wear no marking to tell me where you come from." He asked me

"Konoha…" I said blankly.

This seemed to puzzle him because he looked at me strangely as if he expected me to bolt or something.

"If you are from Konoha then why do you stand here so unfazed by my presence?" He asked

I looked at him questioningly, not understanding his meaning and I frowned in thought as I tried to remember anything that might help me figure out what he was talking about. I was wary of him, but why would I be fazed by his presence? The look on my face seemed to answer his question.

"You do not know who I am? **Girl must not be a ninja."** He answered himself using two different voices that proved to confuse me more.

"Should I know who you are?" I asked questioningly while silently preparing for a fight.

"Most would take a look at our cloak and run." He replied

I just looked at him puzzled and then I saw a gas being secreted from a flower and I was out. He looked down at me and sighed.

"What should we do with her? **She looks to be in good health, so she would make a good meal. **We could… but we ate not long ago and I'm not particularly hungry. **Alright then let's just move her."** His double personalities agreed.

He reached down and scooped her up, carying her to the back, where the garden connected to the house. He walked into the bedroom and set her down on his bed. He then walked out to tend to his garden of dangerous plants.

)


	3. Piercings

Yep, another chapter…. Don't really know if anyone is reading this because I don't get feedback and I'm thinking about quitting… anyway yep that's about it.

**I do not own Naruto or the characters or the plot or anything **(Just Mehio my oc.)

I woke to a loud banging on the door. The plant man walked over to the door. A man was yelling and cussing about something.

"Leader wants you back at base for a fucking mission." The man with white hair and purple eyes complained.

"Alright. **Keep your voice down you simpleton.**" The plant man said.

This seemed to make the other man louder and he started ranting.

"I come out here all the way from the hidden rain to get your sorry ass and all you can fucking say is that? Besides you're out here in the middle of fucking nowhere so nobody's gonna here anything. I could say were the base was at and nobody would know. In fact I will: THE BASE IS LOCATED AT THE TALLEST TOWER IN THE HIDDEN RAIN AND…" The man started loudly.

"**You are an imbecile there is someone else here and now they know to much."** The plant man said angrily.

He turned around and pointed at me. The white haired man snapped his mouth shut and looked at the plant man. He smirked at him and then me.

"She's kinda cute, where did an ugly ass like you find a hot chick like her and get her into your bed." He said loudly with a smirk plastered on his features.

I stood up anger boiling in my stomach from his words, although my face only showed indifference. The plant man walked over and hauled me up and before I could protest he had sunk into the floor and I went with him. When I could see again I was in an office and there was a man with dark orange hair and piercings covering his face. He was looking over documents on the table. Upon our enterence he looked up and his eyes flashed to me.

"Zetsu, I've been expecting you. However I did not expect a guest." The man said indifferently although his stance showed his unhappiness.

The plant man who was presumably named Zetsu set me down and I moved away from him slightly.

"Sorry Leader, but Hidan came to get me and he **blabbed a bunch of details about us, that could put the organization in a bad situation." **Zetsu answered.

The orange haired man pinched the bridge of his nose, just barely missing the piercing, in obvious frustration and then focused his attention on me.

"It seems that Hidan has gotten you into a bad situation. You know too much about the organization and it is impossible for me to let you simply leave. However if you can prove to me that you are worth something to Akatsuki I may let you live to be a member." He said while brushing a frustrated hand through his orange hair.

"I know nothing about the organization Akatsuki. However, I'm willing to comply and think that I would prove some worth, although I have no idea what Akatsuki does." I replied.

He frowned, how could she know nothing of Akatsuki? It was almost impossible for most villagers not to know who the Akatsuki were, especially since many had been attacked by them. Not only that, but all of the Akatsuki were S-classed criminals.

"Very well, although I find it hard to believe you know nothing of Akatsuki." The orange haired man said.

"I'm a Caller I specialize in the summoning of animals. I can also summon a few weapons, although only ones that I use personally. I have healing abilities that have surpassed my former teacher. I'm also good with a bow, have some talent with a sword and I contain a jutsu that has not been seen for many years." I said warily and being very vague about the jutsu I mentioned.

The presumed leader looked at me, interest sparking in his eyes. He wouldn't accept my words though without a demonstration.

"That's very interesting, a Caller, there hasn't been one of those in over 100 years, and a bow is a difficult weapon for a ninja to use. However, I'm most interested in the jutsu you mentioned," He continued

I looked at him for a moment pondering on whether I should tell him or not. The hidden leaf wouldn't like me saying anything, but then again I didn't really care. It was just the fact that I didn't want to be treated like a weapon again, which kept me silent.

He raised an eyebrow at my silent form. She was testing his patience, he was God and he would have his answer.

"Speak girl, or I will kill you this instant." The orange haired man said as he slowly stood up.

In less than a second he had me pinned to the ground, holding a kunai at my throat. I was surprised, this man was fast, and the respect given to him was clearly because of his strength. He dug the kunai into my throat lightly and I grit my teeth.

"Fine." I growled out lowly.

Standing up and off of my form, he moved back to his desk. Feeling my cut throat, I stood up with a glare.

The leader turned to Zetsu and dismissed him. Zetsu walked out indifferently, seemingly uncaring about my fate.

"Are you familiar with Ayame Ritsuke?" I asked

Pein pondered my question for a moment before answering.

"Yes, I'm familiar with Ayame Ritsuki. He was a person who lived around 1000 years ago. He contained a jutsu which allowed him to turn into a beast that was rumored to be as strong as the nine tails. The beast was unstoppable when released on a village, unless someone could calm the beast enough for them to deactivate the jutsu. If I remember correctly it was called Shishi no Kokuin (Mark of the beast). " The orange haired man said matter-of-factly as he recalled the details.

"That same jutsu was passed on to me, and my former teacher suspects that he may be one of my distant relatives." I said looking away from him, obviously unhappy about him knowing about the jutsu.

"Hn. Do you have the mark to prove it?" He asked in a tone that implied his emotionless disbelief.

I nodded and turned around, pulling up my shirt so he could see my back. In the center of my back was a spider web looking mark with a print on the side that looked like a paw mark. Pulling my shirt back down I turned back to the man with piercings.

"Interesting…" He said as his thoughts trailed off.

"And your summoning?" he asked after some careful pondering.

"I can summon whatever animal you wish as long as it existed at some point in time." I said to the orange haired man, slightly satisfied with his look of disbelief.

"Summon me whatever you wish." He stated simply

My satisfaction left after his words were spoken. He was indifferent again… as though he believed he was stronger than me. I thought unhappily.

I summoned a dragon which took up half of the room, crouching on the floor. I was particularly fond of this dragon and it was one of my favorite summons. I summoned an ant eater which looked up lazily at me and then sat down. Finally I summoned a saber toothed tiger which simply yawned and rubbed his head against my leg before walking over to a corner to sleep.

The orange haired man watched my actions noticing how easy it was for me to summon them; she simply snapped her hands and they appeared. The only difference in her composure that he could see was that when she summoned the animals her eyes changed to a bright green, he suspected it was how she was able to control the beasts. The mark on her back was also real; it was imprinted into her body, not like a tattoo but more of a birthmark, which was proof enough to him.

"I believe your skills could be useful to the Akatsuki so I have decided to let you join if you are willing, although if you don't join I will be forced to kill you because of your knowledge." He stated

I nodded my head and snapped my hand making all of the animals in the room disappear. There was a scratching at the window and I turned to look. Lushirio was looking in and was getting impatient by the look of things. I walked over and opened the window to let him in, he jumped through and growled. The orange haired man noticed that my eyes did not change and realized that the massive cat that entered the room was not under her control.

"This is Lushirio, he is not a summons he comes off of his own free will, as my familiar. If it's necessary I can control him but I prefer not to since I think of him more as a friend than as a tool." I said simply

The orange haired man looked at the animal and was surprised when it stalked over to the girl and stood on its hind paws to put its front paws on her chest. I braced to hold his weight and then let him nip at my neck in a show of affection. I ruffled the hair on his head and huffed at him before he let go and sat down at my feet.

"Our organization's goal is to capture all of the bijou to create the ten tails. We will use its power to force the other countries into submission. Once the ninja world collapses we will be the most powerful force in the shinobe world. This will make it easier to conquer all of the countries. With no more war, the world will fall into ultimate peace and the pain and sorrow of the world will be lifted." The orange haired man finished.

"I'll join your group… to create this ultimate peace you speak of. Although I have two conditions, one being that Lushirio be allowed to stay in the building with me and second being that I refuse to do any missions concerning the harm of Tsunade or Kakashi from Konoha." I said looking away.

He looked at me, realizing that I must be from Konoha and then pondered why it was just those two that she asked not be dealt with by her.

"You are from Konoha, will your loyalties waver while you stay here?" He asked questioningly.

I huffed in amusement the hidden leaf was nothing to me, they cared nothing for me except to use me as a weapon. It was just that Tsunade and Kakashi had been good teachers that I would miss if they died.

"I will be loyal to this organization as long as it stands; my loyalty to Konoha has never been strong at any point in time. They kept me locked up like an animal because they feared my power. Until yesterday when I made my escape I had never even been out of the building, let alone outside, at least from what memories I can recall. The only people I knew where Tsunade, whom taught me medical skills and how to use chakara to enhance strength and Kakashi, who trained me to fight with my summons and weapons. They, with the exception of the elders and the 3rd where the only ones who know of my existence and to be honest I'm glad I'm no longer there." I said truthfully.

"I agree to those terms, they are not unreasonable and you are of value to Akatsuki. I go by the name of Pein, however I would prefer for you to call me Leader. You will be partnered with Zetsu, although we were not expecting a new member so I do not have a room for you at this time. So you will have to share with one of the members, I do not care who you choose."

Pein called to someone named Konan. And a blue haired woman came out. "She will need something to wear as well as a few other necessities." Pein said to Konan. Konan looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back and she took my hand to leave, apparently we were going to get that stuff now.

Konan pulled me into a store that was just a few blocks out of the base. The store had weapons lining all of the walls in the front of the store. Konan pulled me to the back of the store and around a corner. This area had woman's clothing and shoes. Konan walked over to an isle with dresses on it. I wasn't into that style so I wandered around. All of the clothing was designed for ninja there was no clothing in there just for looks.

I walked down an isle and found what I was looking for. There were some skirts that flared lightly. I picked up the black skirt and admired the good workmanship. It had a few ruffles in it to give it an appealing look which I liked. I grabbed five of these and then saw the same style in green and black, as well as blue and black, I grabbed two of each of those. There was also a white and black skirt, which I grabbed. I walked down the isle looking for a shirt. I picked up some fish net tops with short sleeves and then looked for some shirts that would go over it. I found corsets I grabbed five plain black of these and a few blue and a few green. I called it good and went to find some undergarments. I found some simple black underwear and bras. I then grabbed some long black socks. Konan walked over to me with a few dresses in hand for herself. She inspected my clothing and then nodded in approval. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to an isle with shoes. I found a couple of pairs of boots and then we headed over to buy the stuff.

I was allowed to spend 100,000 yen and I got out of the store only spending 50,000. Konan pulled me along, back towards the building. (PS. I actually have no idea if this is a reasonable statement XD)

"It's nice to have a girls company, especially when living with a bunch of men." Konan said honestly although in an indifferent tone.

"Yea, I've never done this kind of thing before and it was fun." I replied "So… Pein said that I needed to find someone to share a room with and I was wondering if you would be willing to let me stay with you for a while." I asked awkwardly.

"I share my room with Pein… otherwise I would allow you to stay with me" Konan said casually.

"Oh well, I'll figure something out. Maybe Zetsu will let me stay with him." I said pondering.

Konan just continued walking back to the base and I followed after her.

"I'll have a coat tailored to fit you and I can send someone to get you toiletries." Konan said as we walked up the stairs to the door.

"Thanks." I said

She walked into the building and headed up a flight of stairs to the left. I walked down the hall that was nicely decorated. There was a room to the left with no doors which I walked into. It was a large room that appeared to be the living room. There was a blond haired man sitting on the floor, who could easily be mistaken for a girl if not for his masculine body. This man was molding clay. There was also a red head who was working on a puppet. Neither paid me any attention. I walked over and sat next to the blond. He looked up at me. His eyes widened slightly, at the sight of an unknown person.

"Who are you? Yeah." He asked fingering a bird.

The red head looked over at me and then dismissed me finding his puppet of more interest. The blond fingered his bird and watched me carefully.

"I guess Leader hasn't said anything to you yet." I said, slightly angry.

"You're a new member then, yeah." He asked

I nodded and he relaxed again, making another bird. I watched in fascination, his hands had mouths which he used to make his clay figures. I reached out to his hand curiously. He watched me as I examined his blood line limit with fascination.

"Weird, yeah." He said with a smirk.

"No, I think its cool." I said looking up at him. "I'm Mehio by the way." I said after.

"I'm Deidara, yeah. That quiet guy over there is Sasori, yeah." He said with a smile while pointing over at the red haired man.

I grinned up at Deidara. Sasori simply looked at me in boredom, which was the only acknowledgement I was going to get from him, I suppose. There was a noise in the opposite direction and I looked over to see the guy named Hidan passed out on the couch snoring loudly. Deidara smirked and threw one of his smaller birds at the sleeping mans head. The bird exploded upon hitting Hidan in the face. Hidan woke up and rolled off the coach cursing loudly. Deidara started laughing and I couldn't help but laugh to. Hidan scowled and then noticed me sitting there.

"Hey bitch, I see your not dead which means that you're a new member right?" Hidan asked loudly.

"Yeah." I answered him.

"So what can you do, yeah?" Deidara asked curiously.

Sasori had turned to hear about my skills, I noticed. Hidan walked over and laid down next to me. Deidara just looked at me expectantly.

"I have healing skills that are quite useful but my main skill is in the art of Calling." I said

"Fucking Calling? What the hell kinda technique is that. I'm fucking immortal Bitch" Hidan said hotly.

I summoned a dragon which stood in front of us. It took one look at Hidan and then breathed fire on him. Deidara started laughing and Sasori looked bored with the display and moved back to his puppet. Hidan's face was burnt and he made a grab for the dragon with killing intent in his eyes. I snapped my hand and the dragon disappeared. Hidan glared at me and called me a slew of unpleasant names.

I grabbed his neck and hit a pressure point. He went limp and just glared at me. Smirking I reached around and disconnected his spine from his skull. He started yelling, wanting to know what I had done to him. I stood up, dusted off my clothes and walked over to the couch that was now unoccupied. Deidara went back to his clay work and I sat, content on just watching the artists' work, while occasionally looking at the writhing Hidan.

I looked up when someone else walked in. He was very tall with bluish skin and gills. He reminded me of a shark. Behind him came a shorter but still tall black haired man with red eyes. His eyes were like that of Kakashi and I realized that he possessed the sharingan. The blue haired man looked at Hidan and gave Deidara a questioning look. The black haired man didn't seem to care and walked over to a chair on the opposite side of me to read. Deidara turned his gaze and the fish man followed his gaze to me. He grinned toothily at me and then laughed.

"What did he say to piss you off?" The fish man asked grinning.

"He called me unappealing names so I disconnected his spinal chord from his skull." I said shrugging.

He smirked at me and then looked around the room assessing who all was there.

"Well little lady, I'm Kisame and that scary guy is Itachi." The fish man said gesturing towards the black haired man.

"I'm Mehio." I said returning his grin and giving Itachi an acknowledging look.

"B-… I mean Mehio, will you fix my spine so I can get up and take a piss." Hidan said from the floor.

I sat up and walked over to Hidan. I put my hands on his spine and moved his head to the proper place. Then I pushed the bones back together and applied some light healing chakra to keep the bone together. I moved away from him and walked back over to the couch.

"Thanks, bitch" Hidan said before exiting the room.

Kisame walked over and sat on the other half of the couch and sighed. Sasori got up and told Deidara that they should leave for there mission now. Deidara waved at me and then left with Sasori. I waved back and watched them leave. Zetsu walked in a moment later and walked over to sit on the opposite side of me.

I ignored Zetsu for the moment, still mad at him for leaving me alone with Pein. Although I didn't blame him for wanting to leave quickly, Pein was mean.

"So Kunoichi, were are you going to be staying while you're here." Kisame asked.

"I don't have a room at the moment and have to find someone who will let me stay with them for a while." I replied

He nodded and then stood up and walked into the kitchen that was in the room next to the living room.

Itachi looked up at me and studied me with his sharingan.

"I will be leaving for a mission and will allow you to stay in my room if you wish." Itachi said in a dull manner.

"Thanks, I think I'll take you up on your offer." I said smiling.

Zetsu didn't say anything, simply sat there pondering something between his two personalities. I watched Itachi read for a little while before my eyes started to close. My head hit Zetsu's shoulder and he looked over in surprise before realizing that I had fallen asleep. Itachi said nothing, simply continued reading and Zetsu not sure what to make of the gesture, left me there to sleep.

About an hour later Kisame walked back in and announced that he had cooked dinner. I sat up realizing I had fallen asleep. Zetsu was gone but Itachi was still there. I sat up and walked into the kitchen with Itachi following behind. Kisame had made a chicken stir fry that actually looked very appealing. I grabbed a plate and moved over to the table that was situated in the corner, to eat my meal. The other two did the same.

Kisame told funny stories about the other members' idiocy while we ate and I laughed at some of the things that he said. When I was done I took my plate into the kitchen and washed it before finding the cupboard that it belonged in. I helped Itachi and Kisame with the rest of the dishes and then started to head out.

Itachi followed grabbing my arm and dragging me back down the hall and up to the third floor. He stopped at a wooden door with a blue, white, and red family crest on it and then walked in. The room was very nice with a large bed in the corner that was all black. There were bookshelves near the entrance with thousands of books lining there shelves. It was a nice room. He told me I could stay here in his room and then turned to leave. Before he reached the door I called out to him.

"How far has your eyesight declined?" I asked questioningly.

He stiffened slightly and then turned around to look at me. I assumed that that question had never been asked of him. He quickly composed himself and answered my question.

"It has receded almost to complete blindness." He said unemotionally before turning back to the door.

"I can help… I have medical skills and may be able to help keep you from going completely blind." I said quietly.

He nodded and then slipped out the door. I found a bathroom and decided to use his shower before going to sleep. I didn't have anything to wash up with but Itachi had some. I sighed figuring he probably wouldn't mind me using his soap and shampoo. I quickly washed up and then headed out, smelling like the stoic man that had left earlier.

I had left my bags with Konan but figured that since I was the only one in the room, I could just sleep in undergarments. I'd find Konan in the morning and ask her for my clothes. I hopped up onto Itachi's bed and then climbed under the sheets and went to sleep.

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	4. His Eyes

Another update XP. Feedback helps me write better it would be much obliged.

**I do not own Naruto or the characters or the plot or anything **(Just Mehio my oc.)

I woke to the sound of knocking on the door. I sat up to answer and then realized I was only in my undergarments, curse my indecency.

"Yeah." I said groggily in my sleepy voice.

The door opened and I pulled the blankets up to cover myself. Konan walked in with a house keeper close behind and I relaxed visibly. The house keeper had a large bag in one hand with a few Akatsuki cloaks in the other. Konan gestured to the table and the woman set the items down and then looked at me.

"I can get toiletries for you now if you wish. Just tell me what you need and I can get them." the house keeper said politely.

"Um… just some unscented shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and some black eyeliner." I said from the bed.

"What about items for your monthly cycle and perhaps shaving items." The house keeper said being thorough.

Curse early mornings they made me so stupid and forgetful. I told her what I wanted and then she left saying that she would bring the items to this room once she got them. I sighed and looked over at Konan. She gestured to the table and told me that the clothes we had gotten yesterday were in there. I sat up not caring that Konan saw my indecency, since it wasn't something she hadn't seen before. I walked over to the bag and found the set of clothes that were black and green. I then walked over to the bathroom to change. I came out a moment later looking fairly decent. Konan handed me the cloak and I put it on. She eyed me for a moment and then nodded her approval. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring. It was green, she handed it to me and I slipped it on.

It glowed for a moment before shrinking to fit my finger right. Then it shocked me sending electrical currents through my arm. I looked at the ring in disbelief and kept myself from crying out and doubling over. Konan watched me, appraising my strength. My fingernails lightened to a neon green and I looked at them curiously. Well, now I understood why all the Akatsuki's nails were colored.

"What was that?" I asked once it stopped zapping me.

"The ring binds itself to you; proving your membership, as well as allowing us to find out where you are when necessary." Konan replied simply.

I nodded my understanding and started pulling my boots on. Before leaving she said that Kisame was making a late breakfast and to make it down before the rest of the boys, because there wouldn't be anymore food if I didn't hurry. I looked at Itachi's clock and realized it was noon and that I had slept in. I strapped and tied a few belts on my boots and then ran into the bathroom to fix my hair so that I looked presentable. I didn't have any makeup so I ran out of the room and hurried down to the kitchen.

Konan was sitting at the table with a groggy Deidara next to her. I had to laugh because he had perhaps the worst bed head I had ever seen. His hair was sticking up and he wasn't wearing a ponytail. He saw me laughing and glowered at me. I walked over and sat by him.

"Nice bed head." I teased.

"I just woke up, yeah, besides your hair probably doesn't look that great when you wake up either, yeah." He grumbled.

"Yeah, that's probably true." I said trying to lighten his bad mood.

He ran a hand through his long hair and then looked up when Kisame came in with three trays of food that could feed half an army if not more. Deidara scooped some eggs onto his plate and then grabbed a piece of toast and bacon. I did the same only in a smaller quantity. Kisame grabbed the eggs and filled his whole plate before grabbing four pieces of toast and a handful of bacon. I looked at him incredulously and Deidara mumbled something about Kisame being a fat ass.

Hidan rushed in a minute later and dived for the table. He poured the rest of the eggs and everything else left, onto his plate. Deidara started yelling, along with Kisame about how he should be considerate about the people who hadn't come down to eat, yet. A man with scars and stitches walked in and I watched him sit down next to Hidan. He had the coolest eyes I had ever seen; they were red with green in the middle.

"Hidan, you took all of the food." The stitched man barked at him.

"Go get your own dammed food this is fucking mine, Kakuzu." Hidan answered yelling at him.

The man named Kakuzu wrapped his stitching's around Hidan and threw him back into the living room. Kakuzu then proceeded to take some of the contents of Hidan's plate and move it to his own. Hidan walked back in and took his seat grumbling about ugly guys stealing his food. Once I was finished, I washed off my plate in the kitchen with Deidara doing the same. He said he'd see me later and then left. Hidan started yelling again and Kakuzu yelled back. Kisame scooted out of the way of the bickering men and Konan followed after. She turned back before exiting the room, threatening to have the men pay for anything they broke. Then she left out the door and I helped Kisame clean up the kitchen.

"Are they going to be okay?" I asked gesturing to the two men that were still bickering.

"Yeah, they do this all the time. Kakuzu is Hidan's partner and they hate each other, but they are perfect team mates." Kisame said grinning.

I gave him a look that implied that he was crazy. He just sighed and then walked over to flop on the couch.

"Yeah, before Hidan, Kakuzu had killed all of his partners because he didn't like them. But since Hidan is immortal he can't die so there the perfect team and I think that secretly they kinda like each other." Kisame said chuckling.

I nodded and then walked off saying that I'd see him later. I walked back to Itachi's room since that was the only place I knew at the moment. I walked into the room and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Itachi walk out of the bathroom in only a pair of pants.

"I… sorry, I should have knocked." I said looking down at the floor.

He just walked over to his dresser and put on his shirt and then sat on his bed. He studied my frazzled expression for a moment and then gestured to the table with my stuff on it. I also noticed a bag that hadn't been there before. I realized the house keeper must have gotten my stuff and left it here, like she promised. I looked at Itachi and he studied me for a moment before speaking.

"You said you might be able to heal my damaged eyes?" He said emotionlessly.

I nodded and walked towards him.

"I can look at them if you like. In order to see if I can find the problem." I said quietly still embarrassed from walking in on him.

"How did you know I was going blind in the first place?" He asked skeptically

"Kakashi has the sharingan in his left eye and although he won't admit it, I can tell that he can't see out of it. I'm a medic, so it's not hard for me to tell that without constantly using the sharingan, you would have problems finding your way around." I said quietly.

He just nodded and looked at me skeptically. His eyes were what kept him in Akatsuki and if they failed he would be of no use to them. It was no wonder he wasn't comfortable with me looking at them.

"Very well, I will allow you to look at my eyes." He said stiffly.

I put my hand on the side of his head and asked him to turn off his sharingan. He complied and I used my chakra to prod his eye and look for abnormalities. When I hit a blockage I nodded my head and pulled back. He looked at me expectantly.

"There is a blockage near you cornea. It looks like chakra build up from overuse." I said

"Can it be repaired?" He asked casually.

"I could try to remove the blockage but if I slipped up it could blind you." I said seriously.

He nodded and thought through his options. The blockage caused him to have migraines, and made him basically blind. But if she slipped up his eyesight would be completely lost. He looked at me then, trying to gauge my skill level.

"How good of a medic are you?" He asked

"Tsunade told me that I had surpassed her in my skills, however I have never performed on anyone, since Kakashi won't let anyone look at his eye." I said in answer to him.

He knew Tsunade and was surprised that I had learned from her and even surpassed her. However, he said nothing and kept his face emotionless. Then he seemed to weigh his options and sighed.

"I will allow you to try to repair my eyes however, if the first repair is unsuccessful I will not allow you to fix my other eye. And if you should decide to blind me I will kill you were you stand." He said seriously.

I nodded and moved closer to him asking him to lie down. He complied and I sat on the bed next to him. I put my hand on the side of his face and closed my eyes in concentration. I maneuvered my chakra through the nerves in his eyes and then found the blockage. I carefully collected some of the chakara buildup with my own and pulled back slowly. I got it out of the fragile areas of his eyes and then crushed the blocked chakra with my own. I repeated the process three times and then sighed.

The whole time Itachi had relaxed as I removed the blockage and I realized that there were probably other symptoms besides blindness, that caused him pain. It must have been a relief to have the blockage removed. I pulled back and he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times and then noticed the difference. I was holding my breath when he looked at me. He chuckled at my expression which seemed out of character for him. And I must have gaped at him because he made the sound again.

He lay back down and I assumed that that meant for me to continue. I finished his other eye an hour later. My chakra was almost depleted and I was tired. He opened his eyes again and looked at his room, with his new eye sight. It had been years since he had seen so clearly and he was surprised at how much his vision had declined. He looked at me and noticed my weakened state.

"Thank you, for healing my eyes." He said politely, although with no visible emotion.

I nodded and walked over and grabbed my stuff. He watched me leave with slight dissatisfaction. I walked down the hall and ran into Zetsu. I looked up at him and he looked down at my weakened state.

"Sorry I didn't notice you there." I said apologetically.

"It's fine.** Why is your chakra depleted so much?" **Zetsu asked with both halves talking.

"I-" I started

"She healed me." Itachi said walking up behind me.

"I see." Zetsu said looking at Itachi. "I wasn't aware of any **injuries."**

"I need a place to stay; it seems my room won't be done for another day." I said apologetically to neither of them specifically.

"You can stay with me, if you like." Zetsu said casually. Itachi simply walked off seeming indifferent.

"Thanks." I said happy to have a place to stay.

It was late now but I was too tired to eat and just wanted to crawl into bed. Itachi's room was on the third floor and Zetsu walked down to the second floor. I immediately realized that this would most likely be the floor I would be staying on as well, since there were people down the hall moving furniture into a room that previously had nothing in it. Zetsu proved me right when he told me that it would be my new bedroom.

I nodded and followed him. He opened the door and I wasn't surprised to see the garden that took up the whole front half of his room. He led me to the back and I set my bag down on the floor by the wall. There was only one bed and a bathroom and I realized that we would either have to share a bed or one of us was sleeping on the floor. I blushed lightly realizing the situation. The bed was quite large though and even if we slept together, there would be lots of space between us.

"I can sleep on the floor." I said

"That's not necessary there is plenty of room on the bed for two, however if it displeases you, I can find a different place to sleep." He said

"No. That's okay I just wasn't sure if you wanted me in the same bed as you." I said blushing harder now.

His mandibles or plant parts on the side of his face moved closer together so I couldn't see his expression.

"It is fine with me, I won't bite and I'm not like Hidan." He said quietly.

I moved over to the left side of the bed and climbed in. I pulled the blanket up all the way and watched him maneuver over and get on the other side of the bed. He retracted his mandibles and closed his eyes, keeping to his side of the bed. I closed my eyes to and before long I had fallen asleep.


	5. The Game Called Twister

This is kind of a long chapter but hey at least I updated lol :3

**I do not own Naruto or the characters or the plot or anything **(Just Mehio my oc.)

Zetsu woke up first surprised by the heat he felt on his side. He looked over to find me curled up next to him sleeping soundly. He reddened lightly and realized that I had moved next to him while we slept. He carefully got out of bed as not to wake me and make things more awkward than they already were. He silently walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

I woke up to the sound of running water and realized Zetsu must be taking a shower. I got up and moved over to my bag. I grabbed a pair of clothes that were all black and changed out of the ones I was wearing. I stretched and walked over to a mirror that was on his wall and fixed my frazzled hair. I brushed through it and let the small curls brush my shoulders. I put on the eye liner I now had lightly, and then put my boots on. Zetsu walked out a moment later in just a pair of pants I looked down and focused on tying and strapping my boots. He went over to a dresser and put on his cloak. Apparently his mandibles made it difficult for him to wear a shirt. I stood up and we walked out of his room and down to the kitchen.

Zetsu was a cannibal but he didn't seem to mind eating normal food. I grabbed some fruit and a glass of orange juice for myself and Zetsu did the same. We ate in silence until Pein walked in.

"I have a mission for both of you. I need you to take out Suzumi Kakazi whom has become a problem to the organization with his boasting of being a member himself." Pein said with obvious displeasure. "However I want for you, Mehio to be quite about it. I do not want people to know of your existence. I want you to be the organizations back up and I don't want people to know that Akatsuki has a new member." He said

I glared at him and he looked back at me with indifference. Zetsu pretended not to notice and continued eating quietly. After a while I nodded my understanding, it would be better if the hidden leaf didn't know I was Akatsuki anyway.

"After he is dead I need him to be disposed of Zetsu." Pein said to the cannibalistic member.

We nodded our understanding and he left without another word. Once we finished eating we would head out to do our mission.

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**Konoha**

Tsunade threw another tree at Sakura who barely dodged. Sakura winced at the sharp pain in her leg. Tsunade sighed to herself, Sakura was much harder to teach than Mehio. Sakura healed her leg and then turned back to her teacher. Tsunade threw a punch at her student who dodged and then fell on her but.

"What are you doing Sakura?" Tsunade said impatiently. "Why aren't you trying? I'm not playing around here; any one of my punches could damage you greatly. You said you wanted to get better and if you don't try harder I'm going to stop training you." Tsunade said in exasperation.

"I'm trying Shishou but your training is surprisingly hard today." Sakura said breathing heavily.

Tsunade sighed, she was training Sakura like she would Mehio and Mehio was on a higher level than Sakura. Tsunade started her training again, with a little less vigor and would continue it for another hour and a half.

Kakashi was reading his book at his house. He had been wondering where Mehio had wondered off to. None of the villages had said anything even with all of the bounties going up for the supposed criminal. He knew why she had left and realized that he probably would have done the same thing in her position. It had to suck to live in a cage your whole life never experiencing anything that the normal person would have. He looked out the window and sighed. He was thinking about this too much, although it was probably because he was feeling sorry for himself. This was the second student he had lost. Although he couldn't say for sure if Mehio had gone to an enemy village or not, it was still another blow to lose another student.

His other students were off training with other teachers to get stronger because he just couldn't offer them the specialized training they needed. Although they were still team 7 and would go on missions together as a team. He fell asleep on the couch shortly after, forgetting his current sorrows for the moment.

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**Mehio**

Zetsu grabbed my arm and transported us through the ground to the required destination. We were in the middle of a dense forest which I recognized as being in fire country. I climbed into a tree that was next us and Zetsu followed quickly. I perched on the branch and started to ask him where the target was but he shushed me. He pointed in the direction to the left of us and I looked.

There was a man sitting next to a stream laughing drunkenly. I hopped to a tree nearby, moving closer to him. I was silent and soon sitting right over the top of him. I pulled a kunai out of my weapons holder which I had received from Zetsu before the mission. I aimed it at the pressure point in his neck, which would cause him to go limp, then I threw the kunai and it hit him dead on. He made a chocked noise and then fell. I dropped to the ground and silenced him quickly with the same kunai. Zetsu walked over to me with a look of hunger on his face.

I stepped back and let him move over to eat the guy. It was fascinating at first to watch him eat, but the grinding of bone made my back stiffen and I had to walk away to scout. When he was finished he climbed up the tree to sit next to me. I looked over at the bloody figure next to me. For some reason he didn't scare me even with all the blood on his face and clothing. He was just doing is job, even if he liked what he did.

"Can we head back now?" I asked tiredly.

He nodded and reached for my arm. I flinched slightly, my body reacting to the truth of the situation without my minds consent. He saw the movement and stopped dead. He looked away disgusted with himself for letting me watch him eat. She was probably afraid of him and he didn't blame her.

I realized that my reaction must have made me seem like a frightened child and I reached out to grab his arm. He transported again and we were back in his room. I sighed and sat down on his bed. Zetsu moved towards the bathroom to clean himself up.

"Does it scare you? **That I eat bodies?"** Zetsu asked before entering the bathroom.

"No, for some reason it doesn't." I said truthfully. "I just don't like the sound that bone makes when it's being broken down." I said after, cringing at the memory.

Zetsu just nodded, obviously not believing me, before heading into the bathroom for a shower. My room was probably ready to be inhabited so I decided to go look while I waited for Zetsu to finish. I walked down the hall and looked into the room, it was finished. I walked in and inspected the room. It was nice, the bed was large and there were bookshelves with books lining them completely. Lushirio was lying down on the bed obviously claiming it.

Walking out of the bedroom I headed back to Zetsu's room. I was going to see if he wanted to come down to the living room and see what everyone was doing. When I came in I realized that he was still in the bathroom taking a shower. I laid down on the bed to wait and ended up falling asleep. Zetsu walked out a half an hour later expecting me to have gone to my room. I woke up as soon as the door opened and realized I had fallen asleep. He had his cloak on this time and I sat up.

"Want to go see what everyone's doing downstairs." I asked casually

He nodded and I got up and grabbed my stuff. We walked out and I told him I'd be back in a minute. I ran down the hall put my stuff in my new room and ran back. Zetsu smirked at me for acting like a child. I grinned at him and walked down the stairs.

Deidara and Sasori were in the living room. Deidara was lying on the couch making clay birds. Sasori was at a table with a chess board out. Zetsu and I walked in but the two already in the room didn't seem to notice. Sasori looked up a moment later and gestured to the board.

"Care to join me for a game of chess?" Sasori asked no one in particular.

"Sure… but your going to have to teach me how to play." I replied.

"See Sasori, I told you no one plays those kinds of games anymore, yeah." Deidara said accusingly.

"I can teach you." Sasori said, simply ignoring Deidara's words.

I walked over and sat down. He explained how to play the game and the goals. I nodded and moved my first piece. He frowned at my piece, obviously thinking that I had moved badly. He took his turn next. Within three minutes he had reached my king piece and beaten me. I gaped at him and he smirked. Zetsu walked over and looked at Sasori's win. He nodded his head and then walked off into the kitchen.

"Well, that was fun. Are there any other games we can play?" I asked Sasori.

He just gestured to a desk and I walked over to look. I opened up a drawer and found all kinds of games. It was kind of ironic that the notorious Akatsuki played games and I laughed quietly to myself. I picked up Sorry and brought it back to the table. Sasori looked at it skeptically and Deidara walked over to see what I had picked.

"This game is fun, yeah." Deidara said obviously pleased with my choice.

"Yeah, I love this game." I said happily.

Sasori chose the red pieces and Deidara chose the yellow. I grabbed the blue pieces and we started the game. I got out of start first and Deidara complained about not getting a one or a two. Sasori got a Sorry and bumped me back to start. In the end Sasori won and Deidara grumbled something about him cheating.

Kisame walked into the room and saw us playing a board game. He smirked and walked over to the desk and pulled out another game.

"You guys want to play extreme Twister?" Kisame said with a smirk.

"Sure." I said brightening at the thought of correcting my loss.

"Now, this game I can win at, yeah." Deidara said grinning.

I looked into the kitchen for Zetsu. He walked out and came over to see what the commotion was.

"Come on Zetsu, come play a game with us." I said pleading.

He looked at the game and sighed. Sasori started to leave and I pleaded with him to play. He sighed loudly but walked over to the board were me and Deidara were standing. Zetsu retracted his mandibles and walked over as well. Kisame picked up the game board and spun the arrow.

"Right hand green." Kisame said sitting on the table.

We all complied bending over to touch one of the colors. Then Kisame spun again.

"Left leg yellow." He said smirking.

After about three minutes I was completely flustered. Deidara had one of his hands between my legs to reach a color and his face was really close to my own. My arm was underneath Sasori and his hand was under my chest. Zetsu was bent over the top of me with a hand over my back and a leg on the opposite side. Kisame was sitting on the table laughing.

"Hurry up, yeah, or we'll fall." Deidara strained.

"Okay, Okay. Uh… left hand blue." Kisame said laughing again.

Zetsu reached underneath me and touched blue. I squeaked and Sasori slipped forward knocking into me. I collapsed with Sasori and landed on top of him. Zetsu fell and landed on me and Deidara's hand and head were being crushed down by Zetsu. Kisame busted up laughing falling off the table to roll on the floor.

"It would be greatly appreciated if you would remove your hand from my groin." Sasori said unemotionally.

"Sorry." I said moving my elbow away with a blush.

Zetsu rolled off of me and let me up. Deidara's hand was under my legs and he was quickly pulling away since he was no longer in a head lock. Sasori was under me with a blank face. I sat up and rubbed my head. Sasori sat up and commented on the game being interesting. Kisame was still laughing on the floor. Zetsu looked ashamed and I went over to stand by him.

"That was fun." I said trying to brighten his spirits.

"We should play again after me and Sasori get back from our mission, yeah." Deidara said grinning.

"You're going on a mission?" I gestured to the two of them.

"We have been sent to retrieve the one tail." Sasori answered.

I nodded and watched as the two members turned to leave. Kisame sat up wiping a tear from his eyes.

"You should have seen your faces!" Kisame said laughing again.

Zetsu turned to leave, embarrassed with himself for stooping so low as to play Twister. Kisame walked over to the kitchen still laughing. I followed him to get some food as well. He pulled out a bunch of stuff and I offered to help. He gave me a knife to cut the vegetables up while he started the meat. He was making stir fry again only this time with fish instead of chicken.

Itachi walked in a moment after the food was done. It was the first time I had seen him since I fixed his eyes. Kisame set the food on the table and we ate in silence. Kisame seemed to struggle with the absence of noise and started to talk.

"So Mehio, are you any good at fighting? Cause I could use a good fight right about now…" Kisame asked hopefully.

"I suppose… You saw Hidan, I took him out in less than a minute. Of coarse he is an idiot." I said recalling the incident with a smirk.

"Don't get to confident there; I'll have you on the ground crying in less than a minute as well." Kisame said smirking.

I looked at him skeptically and then shrugged. If he wanted to underestimate me then I would just have to show him how good I was. Itachi watched our conversation intently sizing us up. Kisame grabbed our plates and threw them in the sink, and then he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the stairs. Itachi followed close behind to watch. He took me to the very top floor, where Pein's office was and stopped at a door that was next to Pein's. He opened the door and walked up another ten stairs onto the roof.

"Alright girly, I'll give you the first move if you want." Kisame said with a grin.

I took off my Akatsuki cloak and summoned my bow and arrows. The sword was already on my side so that simply left Lushirio to show up. I whistled loud and clear. Kisame looked at me strangely and I just smirked at him. Lushirio bounded up and put his paws on my chest. I braced for his weight and smiled at him. He pulled at my neck with his teeth affectionately and I huffed at him and then he sat down. Lushirio inspected the area and noticed Kisame in front. He turned to look at Itachi who was standing against the wall watching. Lushirio seemed to find no threat in Itachi at the moment so he turned back to growl darkly at Kisame.

This was the biggest cat Kisame had ever seen, it was almost as tall as Mehio. He had never met Lushirio, so he looked at me expectantly for an answer.

"This is Lushirio, he's my familiar." I said casually

"Well, while he is interesting princess, you still can't beat me." Kisame said stubbornly.

I picked up my bow and pointed it at him so fast he barely had time to react to the arrow aimed for his head. He dodged the arrow and smirked at me. I smirked back and he came at me. His sword swung out to hit me but I dodged easily, flinging a dozen arrows straight at him. He dodged most but complained when one hit him in his arm. He pulled it out and then came at me again. Lushirio jumped in this time and smacked him with a massive paw. He hit Kisame dead on in the face, leaving three claw marks in his cheek. Kisame smirked and swung down at Lushirio, who dodged and moved back.

Kisame came at me again and I got hit in the arm with his sword. I hadn't realized his sword stole chakra from its victim. The wound burned but it wasn't fatal so I quickly moved away from him. I looked at Lushirio and gave him a hand signal that Kisame didn't see. Kisame swung again and I dodged. Lushirio opened his mouth and roared. Kisame turned to look but it was too late. An ice field began to form around Kisame eventually reaching his feet. It froze his feet to the ground and I walked over the ice with ease, shooting him with an arrow right in his arm. Kisame looked at me in surprise but quickly used his strength to pull his feet out of the trap. I knew the ice wouldn't hold him for long, but I still got the tipped arrow in his arm.

"Did you really think that would work?" He asked, laughing as he pulled the arrow out of his arm. "You didn't even hit a vital." He said incredulously.

I feigned surprise at his strength and stepped back. He moved towards me swinging his sword. I dodged and decided I would take out my sword for some practice. Slinging my bow behind me I countered his swing with my own. Forcing chakara to my arms I pushed back strongly. He seemed surprised by my strength but pushed back. I rolled under him slicing his calf as I went. He turned around to face me, throwing a kunai at my throat. I didn't have time to dodge so I snapped my hand and a massive dragon appeared. It took the hit which simply bounced off of its strong scales. The dragon turned to Kisame and breathed a long stream of fire. Kisame dodged receiving some minor burns and I climbed onto the dragons back.

Lushirio jumped on Kisame and sunk his teeth into his neck. I signaled Lushirio down, knowing that this was a practice fight and I didn't want Kisame dead. Lushirio backed down and moved to the defensive. Kisame moved his hand up to his wound finding that the cat could have killed him. Bleeding and burned Kisame rushed me. The dragon swiped him with a claw and Kisame smashed into the ground. Kisame looked up disgruntled and I snapped my hand making the dragon leave.

I walked towards him slowly knowing the drug would take affect in a moment. Kisame stood and swung his sword while excreting water from his mouth. I backed up and watched in fascination as the massive amount of water headed my way. I moved back some more as Kisame turned into a shark and sped towards me. His sword out in front of him, I couldn't dodge.

"Shit" I said startled by his speed.

I side stepped but the blade sliced into my side. He ripped the blade out and I groaned in pain, Kisame looked up and then finally collapsed. All of the water disappeared and Kisame reverted to his normal form.

The bleeding was bad but I sucked it up, I would have time to heal myself after I stabilized Kisame. I took a step towards Kisame in order to heal him and then wake him up when I felt a familiar unwanted sensation. Itachi! Why was he using that on me? I thought frantically trying to break free.

Itachi stood up then and walked over to me. He had his sharingan holding me in place. I was trapped in a genjustu, strapped to a piece of wood, arms outstretched as he stepped forward with a sword.

"Did you plan to kill Kisame?" he asked sternly.

The blade entered my body and I gasped in pain hunching forward. I didn't have time to answer as another sword landed into my side. It felt like hours of endless torture before someone else spoke. I heard an order being said and the genjustsu ended.

I threw up an alarming amount of blood and then collapsed gasping from both pain and the need for air. I looked up to see Pein standing there. He looked at me and then at Kisame. Itachi still stood where he was earlier and I flinched. Zetsu was standing there as well looking at me.

"What is going on here?" Pain asked in a stoic manner while hinting at anger.

"Kisame asked for a training fight… and I complied." I said breathily.

Pein walked over to Kisame and realized that he was just unconscious. He noticed the slight burns, scratches and bite marks. He looked at the bite marks and was surprised; she had told the animal to stop right before it punctured into his jugular. His wounds were superficial and would heal easily but he noticed that all of the damage he had taken was restrained. She was clearly using high amounts of power, but stopping before she hurt Kisame. It drew the realization of her massive strength and self control. She was not as strong as him and his God like paths of pain, however she was strong enough to take out hokage level individuals.

"Fix him up, and come see me later." He said to me as he took in my bleeding form with unease.

Zetsu looked at me and took in the pained expression on my face. He helped me up and I had to grasp his cloak firmly to hold myself up. He walked me over to Kisame and I pulled out a vile. I pulled off the lid and gently stuck the needle in Kisame's arm. I started healing him as well. Sealing up the bite marks on his neck and then treating his leg wound. I healed all of his burn wounds as well. He woke up a minute later and smirked at me.

"Dam princess, you got a powerful punch." He said happily.

I fell forwards then, but quickly regained my balance applying pressure to the gushing wound. I ripped off a piece of my corset and used it as a tourniquet to ease the bleeding a little. Kisame looked surprised and Itachi walked forwards. Zetsu glared at the sharingan user and then helped me up again. I looked away from Itachi, and Kisame saw the movement. Kisame gave Itachi a pointed look.

"Why did you use your sharingan? How long was I out? Don't tell me you guys trained after I passed out? By the way what kind of drug did you use to knock me out?" he asked me and Itachi.

Itachi had a look on his face that I didn't understand although it looked like regret, but I didn't say anything and gripped Zetsu a little tighter.

"It appears I misjudged the situation… there was no training involved and you were out exactly five minutes." Itachi said walking away.

I was slightly surprised by Itachi's statement; the torture had seemed to take hours when in reality it had been minutes. I kept a straight face though and answered Kisame.

"The drug was a small dose of spider venom which knocked you out, I then used the antivenom to wake you up. Even if I hadn't used the antivenom, you would have woken up after an hour." I said losing consciousness.

I passed out then and Zetsu had to hold up my whole body now. He scooped me up and left to Pein's office. Pein looked up and saw me hanging limply from Zetsu's arms and gave a frustrated sigh. He motioned for Zetsu to set me down on the floor and then dismissed Zetsu. Pein called Konan who walked in. She looked at me and walked over. The wound had seeped through the bandage and my blood was starting to pool. Konan applied pressure and gave Pein a grave look.

"That hole in her side needs to be treated immediately. The Uchiha's sharingan may also have ripped up Mehio's insides to a respectable degree." Konan said emotionlessly.

Pein had Konan retrieve Itachi while he studied me carefully. Getting up from his desk he walked over to me and applied pressure to my gushing wound as Konan had. He took off my shirt and to get a better look at the wound. Kisame's blade had torn up a lot of her flesh and he was sure that if he didn't heal her she would die of blood loss. He used a healing technique on me with his rinnegan and the wound slowly closed up. Picking up my limp body he brought me over to a couch on the side of his office. He carefully although firmly bandaged up my side before heading back to his desk.

Lushirio climbed into the room through Pein's window, growling as he went over to my body. He sat in front of me, dutifully guarding me in my vulnerable state. I moaned in pain in my sleep and Lushirio growled moving his face closer to mine and nudging me softly.

She was strong; she took Kisame on her own and could have killed him. Itachi used his sharingan on her as well and probably inflicted a world of pain on her. Pein watched me a moment longer before standing up.

He walked over to me and eyed the tiger. Lushirio allowed him to come over though since he realized that at the moment, the large cat was not the most dominant male in the room. Pein brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. He inspected all the minor wounds on my body. Then gently shook me out of my unconsciousness.

I woke up and took in my surroundings. Pein was bent over me with a look of concern on his face. Concern? I blinked a few times and the emotion left his gaze. I figured I must have imagined it as I sat up.

"Heal the rest of your wounds." He said simply

I nodded and used what little chakara I had to heal the internal wounds Itachi had given me. The minor wounds could wait for now. A minute later and Konan appeared with a stoic Itachi behind her. Itachi looked over at me and I turned away not wanting to get caught by his eyes. Pein looked at the display emotionlessly and then started talking.

"Itachi, the use of your sharingan to inflict wounds is unnecessary towards members unless ordered by myself." Pein said indifferently

"Yes leader." Itachi said unaffected

Pein dismissed us and I stumbled out heading to my room for some rest. Itachi followed soon after and I held back the anger that threatened to put Itachi in a permanent coma.

"I am sorry for the misunderstanding." Itachi said emotionlessly.

"It's fine." I said leaving him

He grabbed my arm and turned me around to look at him. I growled at his bold move and ripped my hand away from him. He simply watched with interest as I walked away using the wall for support.


	6. The Masked Man

Update :3 This one was long… **I do not own Naruto or the characters or the plot or anything **(Just Mehio my oc.)

**Konoha**

"I need team seven and team Guy here ASAP!" Tsunade said to her ANBU squad.

The ANBU team left immediately, not wanting to get caught by Tsunade's wrath. They divided into groups and went in search of the required people. The ANBU team that was to retrieve Guy and Brock Lee all sighed in disappointment; they had lost the rock, paper, scissors game. They headed off to the training grounds to find the two who were most likely doing 100 mile walks on there hands. When they reached the area, there was no surprise in finding that Guy had his whole team and was training hard in the arena. The ANBU after Tenten and Neji arrived moments later and the two teams of ANBU merged.

"Team Guy, Tsunade has requested your appearance." One of the ANBU told Guy.

"What? You say Tsunade has called? Well we can't leave a lady waiting can we, Lee? Come on team we can train later!" Guy said excitedly.

Team Guy ran off in the direction of the Hokage's tower and the ANBU disappeared since there mission was complete.

The other half of the ANBU team went in search of Kakashi and his team. They split up to search for the group. One of the ANBU was sent to Kakashi's house and wasn't surprised to find the team leader missing. Another left to find Naruto, who was found training with Jiraiya.

"Excuse me Sanin but Tsunade has asked for Naruto." The ANBU said respectfully to Jiraiya.

"See ya later Naruto! Don't forget that new technique I showed you." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"Bye, Pervey Sage." Naruto said back to Jiraiya while running towards the Hokage's tower.

Another ANBU member headed to the hospital to retrieve Sakura. Upon seeing the ANBU Sakura turned to speak with him. He explained that Tsunade wanted her and then Sakura left as well. Team Guy reached Tsunade first with Naruto and Sakura close behind. Once situated in the room it was clear that something was wrong. Tsunade looked pissed she could have taken down all of Akatsuki with her anger. Or at least that's what Naruto was thinking. Tsunade inspected the crowd that walked in and nearly took Neji out with a glare.

"Where is Hatake?" Tsunade screeched.

"It appears he hasn't -…" Neji started.

"Figures. Kakashi sensei couldn't be on time even if it was the end of the world." Naruto said knowingly.

The group waited for an hour and finally Tsunade decided to brief the people here and have Kakashi briefed on the way by Guy.

"It appears Gaara-…" Tsunade started.

"Yo." Kakashi said climbing through a moment later, interrupting Tsunade.

"Nice of you to join us, Kakashi!" Tsunade said in displeased anger.

"Sorry I'm late, but you see-..." Kakashi started

"I don't want to hear it! Now, where was I? Ah yes, Gaara has been kidnapped by Akatsuki and it is believed they are going to take the bijuu from him." Tsunade said almost out of patience.

"What? Those low down Akatsuki took Gaara?" Naruto bubbled out in anger.

"It appears so and I am sending team Guy and team 7 to retrieve Gaara. You leave now; there is no time to waste when the Kazekage's life is in the balance." Tsunade said seriously.

"Yes, Hokage sama." Everyone echoed back turning to leave.

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**Mehio**

After getting back to my room I flopped on my bed and fell asleep. I had major blood loss and would probably need some form of supplement in iron to replenish my blood supply. I woke up three hours later to a burning sensation on my finger. I groaned, the stiffness in my muscles still not healed. But the unpleasant feeling on my finger caused me to return my attention back to the thing that had woken me up.

"What the…" I said looking down at my finger.

The ring was glowing green and I got up and put some clothes on. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of iron supplement and then left. I walked down the hall to Zetsu's room and knocked, but there was no answer so I figured he was gone. I maneuvered up the stairs to Pein's office instead, thinking it was some kind of summons. I walked into his office and Pein looked up from his desk in surprise.

"What seems to be the problem?" Pein asked emotionless.

I picked up my hand and pointed down to the glowing ring.

"Ah yes, we have captured one of the bijuu and are going to extract it as soon as Deidara arrives." Pein said in his usual tone.

"Where? I don't see anyone else here, how are you going to extract a bijuu without the rest of the organization?" I asked curiously

"Touch the ring, a hologram of yourself will appear in the meeting area while your body stays here. However I will not need your assistance in taking the bijuu from the boy." He said answering my question.

I nodded and he touched his ring and closed his eyes. He slumped forward but I noticed he was still breathing. Even though he didn't need my help if figured I would go anyway. I popped a few iron pills in my mouth and then looked down at the ring on my finger.

I touched the ring and closed my eyes and when I opened them again I was in a dark room. Konan and Pein where the only two present in the room, so I walked over to were they were standing.

"You and Konan can wait over there for now; Akatsuki has all of its members so there is no need for your assistance." Pain said gesturing to a dark corner.

Konan and I walked over to the corner and I realized there was a small room with a bench. I sat down with Konan while we waited for the others to arrive. After ten minutes Pein began to grow impatient, Deidara and Sasori were late. The other members could be summoned like me though, so there was no need to worry there. Deidara and Sasori however, had the Jinchuriki and it was not possible for them to simply be summoned when they had to bring the bijuu.

Another minute passed and finally the massive door to the room opened. A large white bird flew in with a man on it. Sasori and Deidara walked in after the bird. Pain moved toward them impatiently.

"You are late." Pein said in annoyance.

"The Jinchuriki was harder to capture than I originally thought, yeah." Deidara replied simply.

Pein made a few hand signals and a statue with hands appeared. The gargantuan statue had a finger for each member although I guess Konan and I weren't included. He then summoned the rest of the members who appeared as holograms. Each moved to there proper spot on the hands that corresponded with the rings each wore. The two physically present members moved two there spots as well. The Jinchuriki was moved to the statue and the ritual began.

Blue mist blew out from the statue and engulfed the red haired man on the floor. The man made pitiful noises as the Bijuu began its extraction from him.

I then noticed Deidara's condition, one of his arms was gone and he was pretty ragged looking. I frowned at this and vowed to heal his wound once he returned to base.

I returned my attention back to watch the performance that was unfolding. I had to look away after a while though, since the grotesque screams and writhing body that Jinchuriki was making made my skin crawl. I can kill without hesitation but when it comes to torture I'm not interested. I turned to Konan who had also turned away.

"Is there something we can do while we wait for this to end." I asked distracting myself from the horror I was witnessing.

"You do not have to stay, our presence is not mandatory, I am here for Pein but you can leave as you please." Konan responded blankly

"Alright." I said and turned back to focus on the other members instead.

They were all using there chakra at a mild pace, it would drain them at the end of the mission but they would be fine. I watched there movements for a good four hours and then fell asleep with my head against the wall. I woke up eight hours later and realized the ritual was still in session. I inspected all of the members checking for signs of exhaustion but they all seemed fine.

I looked over to see Konan still watching intently. I looked up at the eyes that were opening all over the statue and blinked thinking it was my imagination.

"Konan, are those eyes opening on the statue?" I asked

"Yes, once all of the eyes open the operation will be complete." Konan replied.

Only half of the eyes were open and I realized it was going to take a while. I started summoning random animals to ease my boredom. I summoned a lion who lay down on the floor in front of me. I laid my head on his stomach like a makeshift pillow and started summoning small insects to toy with. I summoned a praying mantis and a cricket and watched as the mantis gripped the cricket with its barbed hands. It ate the bug and I watched in mild fascination. The lion moved slightly and I had to adjust.

Konan watched me summon all of the animals with ease. There wasn't even a chakra signature that could be detected. It was like breathing to her and it was slightly nerve racking. She could take out a village if she wanted to with an army of animals, while using less than half of her chakara.

Making the insects disappear I watched as Konan pulled out a piece of paper. She folded it quickly into a beautiful crane. And then she folded a butterfly and many others. I watched her in fascination.

Then I decided to mimic her and bring a few of the animals she had made. I summoned a monarch butterfly that landed on Konan's shoulder fluttering its wings slightly. I did not have a need to control the butterfly so it did as it pleased. I summoned a large bird eating spider as well. I controlled this one because they honestly creeped me out and I didn't want it anywhere near me. I made it walk over to her spider and then hold still while I examined the similarities. Konan's paper folding was remarkable; the animals looked so much alike in structure.

Konan reached over and picked up the real spider looking at it closely. I cringed a little I would never allow for that beast to get anywhere near me. Konan saw my fear and laughed. I was slightly surprised she was usually so uptight.

"You, the animal Caller, are afraid of this little guy." She said stroking the putrid thing.

"There creepy." I said defensively sounding childish.

The man screamed loudly and I cringed slightly. I snapped my hand and all of the animals disappeared. Konan simply watched as I sat up and walked out of the room. I was silent and my chakra was concealed to keep from distracting the ones doing the ritual. I walked to the back of the room and into the water where the gate was.

Keeping silent, I summoned a whale shark. I climbed into its mouth and sat on its tongue. The fish swam down to the bottom of the pool like I requested and I relaxed. It was quiet in here and I didn't have to hear the man's screams and moans. When I felt fairly sure that I could tolerate the painful noises again I requested that the shark return to the surface. It complied and opened its mouth once out in the open air. I climbed out and then dismissed the fish. Walking to shore I inspected the ritual again.

I was in the shark for at least two hours so it had been around twelve hours since the ritual began and it still wasn't over. I crept back to the corner where Konan was. She looked up once I was in the room and studied my features.

"You smell like fish." She said blankly.

"I sat in a fish's mouth." I said blandly to her statement.

She gave me a questioning look but quickly dismissed it realizing she didn't care. I sat down again and waited.

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After a day had passed the final eye was almost open. I was relieved that the ritual was almost over but the Jinchuriki's screams turned into wails and it only made things worse. Konan was even starting to show signs of unease from the torture. Five minutes later and the sound ended. It was over and I walked out, Konan close behind. Pein dismissed the group and they all quickly vanished accept for Pein, Konan, Deidara, and Sasori. Pein disappeared with Konan then and left the rest of us alone.

"You better let me look at that when we get home." I said to Deidara before disappearing.

"So I guess we just get to dispose of the body then, yeah?" Deidara asked sitting down on the corpse.

"Yes, Deidara. But it also seems we have company." Sasori said pointing to the door.

The rock bolder exploded and in walked Team 7. Naruto saw Deidara casually sitting on Gaara's body and flipped. His body roared with anger and the nine tails tried to take over. Deidara smirked and Sasori simply watched. Naruto pounced forward intending to get Gaara but Deidara used a clay bird to take to the air with the deceased Kazekage. Deidara flew out the door and headed off in a different direction. Naruto followed and Kakashi left with him, leaving Sakura and Chiyo to the puppeteer.

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I returned to my body on the floor and sat up. Pein looked down at my now conscious body and began speaking.

"I have a mission for you; I would like you to take out a spy that has infiltrated the hidden rain. You will go with Zetsu and Itachi. The man's name is Kiseki and his disposal is necessary." Pein said.

"Of coarse, do the other two know or do I need to brief them?" I asked.

"Zetsu knows but you will have to tell Itachi." Pein replied with a dismissive tone. "Have your wounds healed?" Pein asked as an afterthought.

"Yeah, mostly." I said

"Good." Was his only reply after that.

I turned and walked out of Pein's office. Halfway down the stairs to Itachi's room I bumped into Zetsu.

"We have a mission; **we have to go get that Uchiha though,** since he is coming with us." Zetsu said.

We walked down to Itachi's room and Zetsu went though the door to get him. I put my back against the wall and waited. Zetsu came out a moment later with Itachi and we left.

The target was not far from the akatsuki hideout. He was in a house staying with friends about thirty minutes out. I could have taken the taget and his friends out on my own, but Pein only wanted the spy dead and disposed of. So Itachi was necessary to perform a genjutsu on the others, which would allow for us to kill the man and leave without there knowing.

Zetsu briefed Itachi on the way. It took an hour to reach the area. Even though the hidden rain accepted the Akatsuki, it was still decided to keep my membership a secret, so I had to wear a straw hat to keep hidden. We strategized for a while and then Itachi moved in. The house was in the middle of nowhere so I wasn't worried about outsiders knowing as I approached the house with Zetsu.

Itachi started the genjustsu and I walked in. the man was in the kitchen and I walked up to him. He turned around, and saw my cloak. He tried to call for help but I ran my blade straight through his heart. He hit the floor panting, forming words that couldn't be heard.

"It's nothing personal but I have my orders." I said unfazed.

The light in his eyes went out and I knew he was dead. Zetsu walked forward and inspected his prey.

"**Looks tasty." **Zetsu's black side said.

"Yes it does, and we haven't eaten in a couple of days." His white side said after.

Zetsu's eyes turned hungry and he moved in to eat the deceased man. I didn't watch this time I turned around and looked at Itachi. I was still angry with him but I was professional and wouldn't say anything while on a mission. Itachi was concentrating on keeping his genjutsu going and didn't acknowledge me. So I stood there waiting for Zetsu to finish. After a few more minutes Zetsu stood up and walked toward me in his bloody state. I didn't flinch I just turned to him ready to leave.

We all backed out of the house and as soon as we were far enough away Itachi turned off his sharingan. Then we heard a startled scream as someone stumbled upon the bloody mess on the floor.

We returned to base thirty minutes later and I walked into my room to take a shower. I missed the lump on my bed in my haste to clean up. I took my shower and then threw on the old shirt I had come to Akatsuki with, and some underwear. I moved to my bed and noticed the sleeping man on my bed.

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It was Deidara, he was passed out on my bed snoring lightly. His arm was back on but I noticed the heavy scarring. His other arm had the same pattern of stiches and I realized he must have lost the other one as well since the last time I had seen him. I applied some healing chakara to his arm and tried to fix some of the scarring. It was useless, whoever had fixed his arms had done a good job but they had not cared about looks.

I shook Deidara a little to get him up. I liked him but I didn't want to sleep with him. He opened his eyes groggily and looked at me. He sat up yawning and I smiled.

"You wanted to see my arm, yeah." Deidara said.

"I just looked at it. Who sewed it back on?" I asked

"Kakuzu." Deidara said

"I see…How was the rest of the mission?" I asked casually.

"That stupid Naruto is crazy, yeah and he chased after me bringing that Kakashi with him. And that stupid sharingan user took my other arm off, yeah! I used a destructive clone to take them out, but that dam Kakashi used his sharingan again and deflected the blast." Deidara said ranting. "And that's not even the worst part. Sasori died, yeah and now I'm partnered with an idiot wearing a mask." Deidara said practically yelling.

"Sasori…died." I said in surprise.

"Yeah, stupid guy was always ranting about how 'you shouldn't dismiss the weak looking people' and he underestimated a pink haired girl and an old lady." Deidara said still in rant mode.

I looked at him with sadness. I hadn't even said goodbye to Sasori or anything really. I must have showed my feelings because Deidara stopped ranting and looked at me. Even if Deidara wouldn't admit it, he really had liked the puppeteer. I pulled together a straight face and tried to dismiss my sadness. I had joined Akatsuki, people were bound to die and I had to come to terms with that. Deidara just looked at me not sure how to comfort someone since he didn't know how.

"Well, at least you came back, right." I said dryly

"Yeah." Deidara said

I smiled lightly and sat down on the bed next to him. He just watched me still not sure what to do.

"So what's the new member like?" I asked trying to get my mind away from my dead friend.

"He's an idiot, yeah. He has a stupid voice and talks stupidly, like he's trying to get me to kill him. And he calls me 'senpai', yeah, I hate that. He runs around a lot and he's basically an overactive child." Deidara said ranting again.

Despite my sadness I couldn't help but laugh, the new guy sounded fun. Deidara glared down, mad that I was laughing at him.

"He's terrible, yeah!" Deidara said angry.

I laughed again and stood up. Deidara watched me walk over to my closet and put on a pair of pants. I walked out a moment later and beckoned to him.

"Come on I'm hungry and I want to meet the new guy." I said still laughing

"Trust me you don't want to meet Tobi, yeah." Deidara said getting up to follow me.

Downstairs Kisame had dinner out on the table. Everyone including the new guy was there, with the exception of Pein and Konan. A man with a mask sat up and bounced around in excitement.

"Senpai! Who's this Senpai, is she your girlfriend?" The masked man said cheerfully.

"No! You idiot she's a member, yeah." Deidara said exasperated.

"Hi Tobi, I'm Mehio" I said smiling at the cheerful guy.

"Oh, Tobi likes her Senpai! She's pretty and nice to Tobi." He said running towards me.

Deidara looked at the masked man running towards him and Mehio and snapped. He threw a clay bomb right at the excited mans face and yelled 'katsu'. The bomb detonated and Tobi fell over. Deidara glared hard at the masked man and then walked over the top of him to the table. I followed after and took a seat between Deidara and Zetsu. The food was delicious and it was fun to hear Hidan fight with Kakuzu and Deidara yell at Tobi. Before long though Hidan started throwing things and everyone but he and Kakuzu left the table. Tobi barreled into me and pulled me into a massive bear hug. I squeaked and Deidara walked over with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Tobi! Put her down your suffocating her, Yeah." Deidara yelled.

"But Tobi's a good boy." Tobi said.

"Now!" Deidara said impatiently.

Tobi set me down and I took in a big gulp of air. Deidara hit Tobi on the head and Tobi pouted.

"But Tobi just wanted to play." He said innocently.

Kisame walked out with a grin.

"You wanna play a game Tobi?" Kisame asked.

"Yes! Tobi wants to play a game!" He said happily, forgetting about the head trauma he had received.

"How about ultimate Twister." Kisame said.

Tobi bounced up and down in excitement and I smiled. Zetsu closed his mandibles in embarrassment, remembering last time. Deidara straightened up and looked at me expectantly.

"I'll play." I said with a smile.

"Tobi too, Tobi too!" Tobi said

Deidara agreed and I managed to get Zetsu to play again as well. Hidan ran out yelling 'Twister' and stood in front of us expectantly. Kakuzu lumbered out after him and I realized we had way too many people. Kakuzu inspected the game for about one second and then turned to leave.

"Unless someone pays me I will never play that game." Kakuzu said stubbornly.

"That's fucking great! No one wants your fat ass to play anyway." Hidan returned back tauntingly.

"Okay then, shall we play?" I asked breaking the men's fight which was surely about to begin.

"Fuck Yea, bitch!" Hidan said happily.

Kisame took up his position on the table with a knowing grin. He snickered and everyone moved around the board except for Kakuzu who left. Zetsu retracted his mandibles to allow for more space and Hidan cracked his neck. Deidara scooted away from the excited Tobi and I waited patiently for the first spin.

"Right hand Yellow." Kisame said starting the game.

We all moved in accordance to his spins and three minutes later I was all twisted up in a mass of bodies. Yet no one was backing down even with the close proximities. Another minute past and I was starting to think that Kisame was saying the colors that got us tangled up in awkward situations.

I was stretched over Zetsu reaching for colors on either side of him. Hidan was underneath Zetsu doing the same as me, only horizontally to Zetsu instead of vertically like myself. Deidara was on my feet, his stomach grazing my legs every time he moved. And last but not least was Tobi, who had somehow managed not to get tangled up at all, although his butt was in my face. Kisame spun once more and then I felt someone's legs buckle.

"Dam it all!" Hidan yelled, his body collapsing.

His flailing movements caused Zetsu to fall on Hidan, Zetsu swished his leg and nocked me off balance and I fell on him next. Deidara thought he was out of the woods and that he might have won, when Hidan kicked him. I heard the kick because something cracked and then Deidara was down for the count as well. Kisame meanwhile, was laughing hard at the mess of entangled bodies. Tobi was beaming, barely holding in his excitement.

"I win!" Tobi said cheerfully.

"What? You can fucking win this game?" Hidan responded yelling.

"I suppose you did, Tobi." I said back.

"Since the God dam idiot won, will people get the fuck off of me?" Hidan yelled

"**Dam it Hidan, **don't yell in my ear." Zetsu said talking with both of his voices.

I wiggled lightly straining to get up. I looked back and realized Deidara had passed out. Great.

"Common what's the hold up?" Hidan yelled.

"You kicked Deidara and now he's unconscious!" I said angrily to Hidan.

"It was his fucking fault, now get off!" Hidan said.

Kisame laughed even louder and fell off the table. Itachi walked in and saw the situation. He turned on his heals not caring about what was going on.

"Wait! Itachi, help!" I said pleading.

He looked back and sighed. He walked over and inspected the pile up. Tobi was running around the room excited and therefore was no use in trying to untangle us.

"Deidara passed out, can you roll him off please I said straining my body lightly. Zetsu flinched at my close proximity not liking the strange feeling that was overwhelming him. Itachi rolled Deidara off of me and I sat up. Zetsu got up quickly after and shuffled out the door. I watched him go and realized that he must be embarrassed. Hidan sat up and cracked his neck.

"Well that was fucking great, the bitch didn't even fall on me, instead it was the freaking plant." Hidan ranted.

"Aw, why'd you help them out that was funny." Kisame said in a pout.

Hidan got up and walked out looking disappointed. Kisame walked out too, leaving just me, Itachi and an unconscious Deidara.

I rolled Deidara over to take a look at the head wound. It was bruised and slightly raised and I figured that he probably had a concussion. It would probably be easiest if I just brought him to his room to heal him and then wake him up. I started hauling up his body when I felt some of his weight lift on the other side. Itachi had taken his other side and we headed for the door. Tobi ran over and pouted.

"Does Tobi get a prize? Tobi is a good boy." Tobi said.

"Uh well I didn't think anyone would win…" I said to the now crestfallen masked man.

"But..." Tobi said threatening to cry.

"Alright, come here." I said exasperated.

He walked over happily and stood in front of me expecting something. I grabbed his shoulder and brought him close. His eyes widened slightly and I kissed him on his cheek… err where his cheek would have been without the mask.

"Good enough?" I asked Tobi hopefully.

"Tobi got a kiss!" Tobi said happily.

Satisfied, I walked up the stairs with Itachi, up to the fourth floor. Itachi walked to the first door and I followed him since I didn't know where Deidaras' room was. He opened the door and walked in; he helped me set the unconscious Deidara on the bed and then dismissed himself. Tobi ran in a moment later yelling 'I got a kiss'. I slapped Deidara lightly and tried to rouse him. He opened an eye and grumbled holding his head. I reached up to him and immediately healed the wound. Without treatment a concussion could kill a man especially if the person fell asleep. As soon as I healed him, I moved my hand away and he looked around at his surroundings.

Deidara realized he was in his room and frowned. How had he gotten up here? He looked at the idiot running around spouting nonsense and then back at me.

"What happened, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Hidan kicked you and you lost consciousness, then me and Itachi brought you to your room. Tobi followed us up and I'm not really sure why he's in here.'' I said to Deidara.

"Tobi's in here because he's an idiot, yeah. Thanks for helping me out though." Deidara started. Tobi spouted out 'I got a kiss' again and Deidara started yelling. "Shut the fuck up Tobi, and what are you going on about." Deidara said yelling at the masked man.

I sighed Tobi was going to tell him about his 'prize' and only make matters worse.

"Tobi won the game! Tobi got a good prize, because Tobi is a good boy." Tobi said cheerfully.

"You got a prize, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Mehio gave Tobi a kiss!" Tobi said grinning

"You… gave him a kiss?" Deidara asked frowning.

"I didn't have anything to give him. So I just gave him a small kiss. Besides he's wearing a mask." I said defensively.

"How come he got a kiss? I'm the one who got hurt." Deidara said pouting but not being serious.

I rolled my eyes, why did this have to be a big deal. I leaned over to Deidara and kissed him on his cheek. His eyes widened in surprise and it made my face turn red.

"There, happy?" I asked Deidara.

"Senpai! Now we both got kisses." Tobi said happily

"Get the fuck out of my room Tobi." Deidara said dazed but still angry at the idiot in his room.

I walked out waving to the two members and then headed down to my room. Zetsu was in the hall and I walked passed him, emotionally drained.

Once I got into my room I stripped down to my undergarments and climbed into bed. I sobbed lightly for a few minutes, allowing time for myself to morn the loss that I hadn't gotten to morn earlier. I heard a knock on the door and turned to see Zetsu walk in.

"Is everything alright?" Zetsu asked.

"Of course." I said lying and composing myself.

He studied me for a moment and then walked over. He could see the slight redness around my eyes.

"People are going to die, in Akatsuki. **It happens a lot.**" Zetsu said slowly.

"I know, it was just unexpected and I kind of liked him." I said sadly.

He looked at me not knowing what to do like Deidara. I sat up and wrapped my arms around the giant plant man. He froze but didn't complain. I wouldn't show weakness now by crying, so I just closed my eyes. He put an arm on my shoulder hesitantly but didn't do anything else.

"Sorry I made you play that game again." I said feeling better.

"Hn." He said in return.

I unwrapped my arms and laid back down. He watched me get comfortable and then turned to leave. I didn't complain just watched him go back to his room. Before he reached the door I spoke.

"Thanks." I said quietly.

He nodded his head and then left.


	7. Uchiha Madness

Hey, sooo this is like the chapter that brings in the bad guy... (Ominous voice) MADARA. (**I do not own Naruto or the characters. **Just my oc Mehio :3)

**Konoha**

After saying there goodbyes to the sand village, Team 7 and Team Guy started heading back to Konoha. Everyone was tired from the journey and the going was slow at first. Kakashi was worn out from using his sharingan twice and Guy had to help him walk. Not long after leaving the sand village, Kakashi started realizing that Guy was getting impatient with the slow pace and tried to make amends.

"Uh, Sorry Guy, but using my sharingan so much really wore me out." Kakashi said apologetically.

"Hurry up guys your taking forever!" Tenten said from up ahead.

Guy's face scrunched up and he started making a low noise in his throat that sounded like he was in pain.

"Uh, Guy?" Kakashi asked.

"Guaaaaa!" guy said suddenly throwing Kakashi up into the air.

Kakashi was startled and when he fell back down, he was on Guy's back. Guy made a pedophilic smile and the rest of the group looked at them with disgust. Kakashi was hanging off of Guy's back, barely conscious.

"That's nasty, grown men giving each other piggybacks." Sakura said making a face. The others silently agreeing.

"I get it! Your training aren't you!" Lee said to Guy.

"Uh huh." Guy said grinning.

Guy ran off at a fast pace with a mortified Kakashi hanging onto him. Lee tried to get Neji to get on his back but the thought was immediately rejected. They then proceeded to run after there crazy team leaders in silence.

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Two gatekeepers sat in Konoha in the early morning. They yawned and stretched looking around tiredly. A cloud of dust appeared in there vision and they looked at it in confusion. Guy ran in with a passed out Kakashi, who was barely even on his back anymore. The guards looked at them incredulously, and Lee and the rest of the team came in shortly after.

"Lee, you really need to train harder, since I beat you." Guy said to Lee.

"Of coarse Sensei! But at least I came in second." Lee said with a little pride.

"Actually… you came in third." Guy said morbidly.

"What?" Lee said, distressed.

"Since Kakashi came in on my back, it seems that he came in second. Therefore you came in third." Guy said to his apprentice.

Lee started crying, holding up a book to wright some of his sensei's 'wisdom' in. Sakura pointed at the half dead Kakashi on Guy's back and told him to get him to the hospital. Guy complied and Kakashi was given a leave of absence to recover.

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**Mehio**

Time went by quickly after the first Akatsuki died. A few months had passed and Hidan and Kakuzu were now dead. It had been depressing, but I had manned up a little and took the news in with a straight face. Itachi was starting to whither again, he seemed sickly and I figured his eyesight was deteriorating again. I had asked him about treating them again, but he refused stubbornly. So I waited around doing the occasional mission and hoping that the remaining members would come back from there own.

Sasuke had finally taken out Orochimaru, which I personally didn't care about. Some seemed angry, while others were proud. Deidara was upset that the Uchiha had gotten to the old member before him and decided that he wanted to confront the Uchiha. Pein didn't really care and Deidara left, in the spur of the moment. Five of the nine bijuu had been captured, with Kisame and Itachi retrieving the sixth, while Pein was going to retrieve the seventh himself.

"See you later." I told the bomber, who was leaving out the door in a hurry.

Deidara just smirked at me and left with his partner. Zetsu came around the corner after Deidara had left and beckoned for me to come towards him. We probably had another mission, I thought a little excited, since I hadn't done anything for a while.

"Pein wants us to get ready for when Kisame and Itachi return with the bijuu, so we can seal it." Zetsu said.

"Okay." I said back, a little disappointed.

After Kakuzu and Hidan died, I had started to help seal the bijuu, to make up for lost members. It was a tiring job, but it gave me something to do at least. I walked out of the building since I was bored. I took to the air on a dragon I summoned and headed off into the sky. I flew up high, so that no one would see me and then flew off, just heading in whatever direction the dragon wanted to go. I flew for around an hour, simply looking at the surroundings and passing over villages.

There was a large bang from the direction just passed Konoha, towards Sound and I looked up in surprise. There was no mistaking it, that was Deidara, detonating his bombs. I turned the dragon and headed towards Sound. The detonations continued off towards the mountain. I sped the dragon up slightly, I had never seen Deidara use so much chakra. I urged the dragon but it stopped dead. I realized there must be something wrong if the dragon was disobeying me. I allowed the dragon to move back since it obviously felt a danger I couldn't see. I stayed in the area the dragon wanted and figured I would stay back and watch.

Deidara was strong he could handle himself. I was more worried about Tobi, but I figured that he only acted stupid; otherwise Pein would not have recruited him. However, I still stayed, just to make sure. Tobi was far away from Deidara and the other signature, whom I supposed must be Sasuke. Deidara must have been planning a big explosion for Tobi to leave his partner. I had the dragon fly higher into the air and move back a few kilometers. I watched the ground, looking for signs of a bomb.

I sensed a slight chakra uplifting below and looked down. The chakara was familiar, it was Zetsu. He had followed me out it seemed. I looked back up and was nearly thrown off the dragon as an explosion that ranged ten kilometers resounded. The dragon was pushed back and I held on for dear life. The dragon was panicked and flew back, while heading in a downward direction. After a moment, I had touched ground. I snapped my hand and the dragon disappeared.

I ran over to were I had last seen Zetsu in a panic. He was gone and I realized my hand was glowing. Ignoring my hand, I ran up to the destruction site. The ground was completely indented, leaving a gaping hole that stretched at least five kilometers. Jumping inside the hole I searched for Deidara. There was nothing, not even the body of the Uchiha. Looking down at my glowing hand again, I decided I needed to attend the extraction.

I found a tree and climbed up high into it. I summoned a few animals to scout around and protect my body, in case anyone found me. I masked my chakra and then touched the ring. I opened my eyes and found myself in a room with the Akatsuki members; they were just beginning the extraction. Zetsu appeared and began speaking.

"Deidara is dead, although it appears he took out Sasuke with him." Zetsu said, then continued thoughtfully. "**Tobi went down with him." **

There was silence for a moment and then Pein spoke.

"Deidara was a great loss; he will be mourned… It will be hard to find a replacement for him, however a ninja of Tobi's level can easily be found." Pein said emotionless, although clearly showing his respect for the bomber.

"Also," Pein stated moving his eyes to mine, "It would be wise to be on time to meetings, especially those of importance." He said icily.

"Yes leader." I said, my eyes downcast, in unhappiness at being humiliated by leader. Although, it was also because of the loss of a close friend.

The extraction was a success, but it had taken longer than the last one. This occurance technically made sense, since the bijuu had more tails.

Pein dismissed the group and declared his leaving. I headed back to my body, needing to leave quickly. The area where my body was situated would be swarming with people, very soon.

I returned to my body and found myself in one piece. I summoned the dragon and hopped on its back, we flew up high and I headed home. Down below was a chakra signature, but I paid it no heed. Kakashi watched the large animal and planned to report it to Tsunade. It was not native to this land and he doubted they even existed anymore. He figured I had something to do with it, although he had no proof.

I cried lightly on the way back to the hideout, Deidara had been like a best friend to me. Until Zetsu had declared Deidara's death, I had simply thought that Deidara had created a massive bomb. Tobi had died as well and although I liked him, the news of his death was pretty mild. I stopped crying though, once I was about three miles out of the hidden rain. I realized my actions were childish for an Akatsuki member and straightened up. If anything, Deidara was probably happy, since he had created his ultimate art. Straightening my features, I landed on the base's roof. I unsummoned the dragon and went inside. Itachi was sitting on the staircase.

"What are you doing?" I asked the stoic man quietly.

"Sending a message to my brother… about our intended meeting place." Itachi said stoically.

"Sasuke? I thought Deidara killed him?" I asked him questioningly.

"No… he is alive, I sense it." Itachi said.

"Will you let me heal your eyes then? If that explosion didn't kill your brother, then he must be strong. Your weakened state will leave you easier to defeat." I said, scowling at the thought of Deidara's unneeded sacrifice.

"No, I am fine." Itachi lied.

I looked at him for a moment and realized that he had a plan. I put an arm on his shoulder and looked at him.

"If you plan to die, you better say goodbye to me." I said quietly.

He looked up, shocked for a moment by my assumption, but quickly returned his features to a blank stare. I looked at him sadly. I was tired of losing friends to others, without even a goodbye.

"Goodbye then." He said stoic.

I just nodded and walked down the hall in silence. I walked to my room, intending to take a hot shower. When I got to my room, I immediately headed for the bathroom. I showered for about an hour, which was unusual for me, since I was usually quick. I needed to collect my thoughts and had just decided to do so in the shower. While I was pondering, I heard a knock on the door. I turned to it, surprised.

"Yeah?" I asked over the shower.

"Are you alright?" I heard someone say.

"Of coarse." I said, rather irritated that I was being interrupted, for such a stupid reason.

There was silence and so I figured whoever it was had left. I finished my shower and got dressed. I dried my hair and then walked into my room. Zetsu was sitting on my bed and looked up as I walked out. I was slightly surprised, but said nothing.

"It's unusual for you to take such long showers." Zetsu said casually.

"I was thinking." I replied

He just nodded and stood up to leave. I followed him out of the room quietly. At least I still had him, I thought. We walked into the living room. Kisame was sitting on the couch looking bored. I went over and sat next to him. Zetsu followed, sitting next to me.

"I miss all the fighting." Kisame stated.

"What?" I asked Kisame questioningly.

"You know, like when Hidan and Kakuzu used to fight about nothing." The shark man grinned.

"I miss it to." I said quietly.

Itachi walked in and saw the three of us on the couch. He moved over to the chair with a book. Kisame looked at him incredulously. How the man could be so boring, Kisame would never understand. He grinned toothily and then started talking about funny things that happened within the Akatsuki. I listened to him talk, laughing when he told the funny parts. Even Itachi grinned a few times. I listened to Kisame talk for another ten minutes and then slowly reclined more into Zetsu. He didn't protest, simply allowed me put my head on his shoulder. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. Kisame laughed at my actions, but continued to talk about the funny things he could remember, since Itachi and Zetsu seemed to be listening.

I shifted in my sleep, causing my body to scoot closer to Zetsu. My arm was across his strong stomach and I turned slightly, so that I was curled up against him. Kisame looked over and laughed again.

"Looks like you've got an admirer." Kisame said laughing loudly.

Zetsu said nothing, simply looked away from the annoying fish. Kisame realized he would get no reaction from Zetsu, so he headed off to the Kitchen to make something.

Kisame came out with a plate of food for himself about an hour later. Itachi got up and headed into the kitchen for a plate as well. Zetsu stood up and I woke up. I blinked a few times and caught Kisame smirking at me. I gave him a confused and tired look. He laughed at this and then continued to eat his food. I laid back down and went back to sleep. Zetsu grabbed a plate and ate in the kitchen. When he came back out, he looked down at me and then looked at Kisame for help.

"Should I leave her here? **Or take her upstairs." **Zetsu's two halves asked.

Kisame shrugged and continued eating. Zetsu sighed and decided his black half was probably right, for once. He picked me up and held me bridal style. My head was tucked into his shoulder and I stirred slightly. Zetsu walked out of the room and headed upstairs. He opened my door and walked inside. He carried me over to my bed and set me down. My arm was holding onto his and he tried to pry me off of him. I mumbled something incoherent and Zetsu sighed. He attempted to get me to release him one more time, but failed. He pushed me over to one side of the bed and managed to pry my fingers loose. He left back to his room soon after.

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**Itachi**

Itachi headed off early in the morning to the intended meeting place with his brother. The area he had planned, was in a building far away from the hidden rain. He traveled in silence, moving at a constant pace that was quite fast. Sasuke would arrive at the meeting point in approximately two hours, so he wanted to get there early.

On arrival he moved to the chair seated in the back of the room, and mentally prepared for the reunion with his brother. Everything Itachi ever did was for the benefit of his brother and now would be no different. He would die as planned and give his brother the amaterasu, so that Madara could not get to Sasuke.

Two hours passed quickly and Itachi could feel Sasuke's chakara approaching. His brother strode in casually, although on guard.

"Hello, Sasuke." Itachi said casually

"Itachi!" Sasuke said in the same tone, but with venom clear in his voice.

Itachi folded his arms and crossed his legs leaning his head into his hand. Sasuke looked unhappy at his lack of motivation and scowled.

"You still fail to kill your closest friend, I see." Itachi stated.

"I will not need that to defeat you." Sasuke said defensively.

"Hn." Itachi replied uncaring.

Sasuke made the first move on his older brother and the battle began. Sasuke quickly pierced his brothers heart and laughed at the simplicity of it. Itachi spoke out and pointed across the way. There in a chair was the real Itachi. He had used a genjutsu and his brother had been oblivious. Sasuke turned, angered by the trick and asked an immediate question. Itachi answered quietly and allowed for Sasuke to ask a few more. Although Itachi answered all of the questions truthfully, he still left out important details. Sasuke was frustrated and attacked again.

This time the battle was heated, Sasuke would not fall for the same trick twice. The two battled for over thirty minutes and Itachi was forced to use his amaterasu. Although he intended for his brother to win, he would not go easy on him, so that the battle would fit the personality he wanted Sasuke to think of him as. Which was a ruthless, uncaring brother, who murdered his whole family, but kept Sasuke alive to torture him.

Sasuke countered, using the curse mark Orochimaru had given him. Itachi used this time to cleanse his brother of the curse, by ripping it right out of him. With the curse came a snake, the snake tried to escape since it was a piece of Orochimaru, but was killed by Itachi. Sasuke retaliated and once again attacked his brother.

With both brothers weakened, Sasuke used his chidori and hit his brother. Itachi coughed up blood but walked toward Sasuke. Itachi was holding out his fingers towards Sasuke's eyes, intending for it to appear as though he wanted them, to keep from going blind. However, at the last moment he touched his fingers to his brother's head. As he fell, he whispered inaudible words to his brother. He hit the wall and crumpled to his knees in death. Sasuke panted next to him and fell unconscious.

Zetsu had watched the battle and was surprised that Itachi had lost, he reported to Madara and then returned for Itachi's body.

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**Madara**

Madara arrived moments later and picked up the limp body of Sasuke. His plan was moving into action, and it would lead to his world domination.

Sasuke woke up a few hours later and looked around cautiously. Madara stepped out of the darkness and introduced himself. The amaterasu was then activated and attacked Madara. Madara fought off the danger and quickly explained what Itachi had given him. He then explained the true story of Itachi. Sasuke looked bewildered at the man, and then his expression turned into utter disbelief. He called Madara out as a liar, which Madara simply shrugged at.

"Whether you believe me or not, is up to you. However what I speak of is true." Madara said simply.

Sasuke watched him a moment and realized the guy must be telling the truth, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Madara asked him if he would like to see the day that Itachi killed his clan. Sasuke grimaced, but allowed for Madara to do so.

"Itachi had been ordered to kill his clan by the 3rd hokage and he followed orders to better the village. The Uchiha clan had not been happy with there current control in Konoha and had planned to rebel and cause a war that would kill many, including innocents. Itachi was a double agent, learning of the Uchiha's plot and pretending to work with them, while at the same time relaying information to the hokage." Madara started.

"He could have refused the order to kill his clan and let another complete his mission, but he wanted to do the job himself. He wanted to do the job because if he didn't, then his brother would not be spared. He called upon me, to help him with the assassination and completed the job. He left you alive out of selfish love, but the elders were angry and wanted you dead. So Itachi blackmailed them into keeping you safe, while he left Konoha as a criminal. He lied to you so that you would hate him, this would encourage you to get stronger so that you could kill Itachi. Once you were able to kill Itachi, you would be strong enough to defend yourself against me, which was all that Itachi wanted." Madara finished grimly.

Sasuke was surprised by the revelation and vowed in determination to take revenge for his brother. He would kill the elders first and then kill the rest of Konoha for his vengeance. Madara was secretly pleased, knowing that Sasuke was falling right into his plot. He then asked Sasuke to join Akatsuki, which Sasuke agreed to.


	8. Disobedience

Hey I've updated again X3. Hope the story and my grammar are getting better. I'm going to start making Pein more of a romantic interest from here on. However I'm interested in others opinions and it has recently been suggested that I change the pairing from Pein to Zetsu. I'm writing the story so that it sets both pairings up, so just tell me which one you like more. Anyway here is my update ;3

(I do not own Naruto or the characters. Only Mehio my OC.)

**Mehio**

I woke up the next day feeling horrible, knowing that Itachi was probably dead. I was the only one in the room and I looked at the clock. It was twelve. I cursed myself for not getting up earlier and quickly got dressed. I left my room and memories from the night before flooded my head. I stopped halfway down the hall, remembering that I had fallen asleep on the couch. It didn't take me long to realize that one of the men had brought me back up to my room. I vowed to thank whoever it was when I figured it out, although I had already guessed who it was. I walked out into the hall and found Tobi walking towards me.

I was surprised, he had supposedly died in the explosion with Deidara.

"Tobi?" I asked confused.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by that name. However I am not Tobi, I am Madara." Madara said simply.

"I see…" I said blankly.

He spun on his heal and left down the hall. I watched blankly as he started for the stairs.

"Oh, I would like it if you did not meet our new members, they must not know of you, since now is when you will be most necessary to me." He said before heading downstairs.

I watched in anger as the arrogant man headed downstairs. I sensed four new chakara signatures as well, one being similar to Itachi. I scowled and hid my chakara completely. Why did 'Madara' pretend he had so much control I wondered in anger, as I headed up the stairs to Pein's office.

I entered Pein's office and he looked up and noticed my expression. I was still scowling and he sighed, knowing what had caused it.

"Tobi is parading around pretending to be you." I said in anger.

"Madara is not pretending." Pein said casually.

I looked at him blankly and he continued.

"Madara is the true leader of Akatsuki, I was simply playing the role while he stayed in the background. You will address him as the leader." He said blandly.

Confusion swept my face, but everything made sense to me now. Madara had been Tobi, so that people would not know of his existence. Now that I thought about it the name Madara sounded familiar. It seemed to me that he was one of the founders of Konoha or something along those lines, but the time difference was massive and I dismissed the idea of them being the same person. Pein watched me silently, gauging my reaction to this new insight. He seemed to understand my connections and decided to add on to his words.

"Madara is indeed the same Madara that fought the first hokage for the right to be the leader. He lived through the fight and regained his strength. He managed to take hold of another Uchiha body when his own grew old, however as to the details, I am not unsure." He said slowly

I nodded at him and turned to leave his office.

"I will be heading out to capture the nine tails, once Sasuke and the new members bring the eight tails." Pein said as an afterthought.

"Alright." I said turning to see if he had anything else to say.

"Beware of Madara." He said quietly and in a serious tone that chilled my blood.

"I'll be careful." I said gravely and left his office.

I couldn't head downstairs because I wasn't permitted to, so I headed upstairs to the roof. Kisame was sitting on the ledge looking down casually. I walked over and sat down next to him.

"Meet the new members?" he asked grinning.

"I'm not allowed." I said angrily, pouting like a child that had been sent to timeout.

"So I suppose you met Madara… well it's no big loss anyway, the red haired bitch is just a snotty whore following Sasuke around like a lost puppy. Sasuke is to full of himself, but isn't so bad compared to the wannabe swordsman. The cheeky kid wants my sword and thinks he can take it." He said roaring in laughter.

"What about the fourth?" I asked uninterested.

"Flubo? no… uh Jugo, yeah Jugo. He's the best of the bunch, nice and quiet, but he has some power that Orochimaru planted in him that gives him freakish abilities." Kisame said uncaring.

"Well they don't sound all that great." I said though still scowling.

"Well I have to head back down before that dumb ass kid comes up and blows your cover trying to fight me." Kisame said laughing.

"See ya later." I said dejected.

He walked off and I sat on the side unhappy. I couldn't even train, since I couldn't show any of the newbie's that I existed. I felt a familiar presence behind me and turned around happily to meet someone to ease my boredom.

"Hey Zetsu," I said a little cheerfully.

"**New members." **His black side said knowingly.

"Glad I don't have to meet them." I said chuckling lightly.

"**Why?"** His straight forward black side said.

"The new leader won't allow it." I said casually.

"Tobi." Zetsu said still using his old name.

I nodded and then turned around to look out at the rising sun.

"You're the one who brought me back to my room right?" I asked Zetsu, casting a glance in his direction.

"Yes…" He said uncertainly.

"Thank you" I said looking back out at the village, slightly embarrassed.

He just nodded and then I turned around to ask him a question before he left.

"When do they leave to get the eight tails?" I asked a little hopefully.

"I believe they leave, **tomorrow.**" Both sides said.

Then Zetsu turned and headed back down stairs leaving me with my thoughts.

I continued looking out at the sky, it was pretty with all the blues and reds that were mixing in it. I noticed the rain clouds though, so I decided to head in, to avoid getting wet. It wasn't that I didn't like the rain, it's just that I didn't want to get soaked. I headed down the stairs and into my room. There was a small kitchen in it that I hadn't ever bothered to use, since Kisame was such a good cook. I headed over to it and pulled out some sandwich stuff. I made a ham sandwich and ate in silence. 'This was going to be just like it was in Konoha,' I thought bitterly.

At least I had gotten to do as I liked for a little while though. I sat on my bed and stared at the ceiling hoping that the members downstairs would leave soon. I heard someone come down the hall and rolled over to peer at the door. Madara walked in and I acknowledged him by looking in his direction.

"I would like you to go with Zetsu tomorrow and scout. Pein will enter Konoha in a matter of days and I need you to find a good entry point, as well as look for the Kyuubi." Madara said simply.

"Sure." I said slightly relieved to get to do something.

"Do not get caught, you are needed." He said threateningly.

"Of coarse." I said bitterly.

He turned and left and I scowled again in unhappiness. The guy oozed confidence, and his voice was deeper showing his experience. The man probably wouldn't do anything that didn't benefit him.

Standing up I went to Zetsu's room. I knocked on his door and waited. He answered and allowed me to come in. I walked through his garden of deadly plants and stopped at the venus fly trap. I picked up the glass with the flies and looked at Zetsu for his consent. He simply watched, so I figured he was giving me permission. Pulling off the lid I guided the fly into the plant. The fly headed towards the nice smelling center and was immediately caught. The digestive juices spilled in and the fly was slowly digested. I watched in fascination, happy to be doing something.

"Why do you like this plant so much?" Zetsu asked curiously.

"I don't know, probably because it reminds me of an animal, even though it's a plant." I said slowly.

He nodded and walked around his plants, I headed over to his room and sat on his bed.

"Do you have any games Zetsu? I'm bored." I said lazily.

"**No**." his black side said

I sighed and laid back on his bed. It was a good thing we had a mission tomorrow or I would probably be moping around.

Zetsu watched me, noticing how comfortable I was around him. She didn't realize that she looked beautiful, her body was curvy but not in an overbearing way. The way she laid on his bed was cute too. Yet he wouldn't admit that he liked her. She sat up and looked at him.

"We have a mission tomorrow." I said excited.

"Yes." He said blankly.

"I can't wait to get outside and stretch." I said happily.

"Hm." He said as he tended to the same kind of plant that nocked me out when we first met.

I watched him tend to his flowers for a while and before I knew it, it was five o'clock. Sitting up I said goodbye and headed back to my room. I grabbed some fruit and made some ramen. I ate and then headed for the shower. When I was done I headed off to bed.

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The next morning I woke up and headed off down the hall to get Zetsu. Halfway there, I heard a commotion of people running up the stairs. Masking my chakra, I slinked back into my room and peeked through the door. A red haired girl with glasses was chasing around a white haired boy with a massive sword on his back. There chakra signatures where low, especially the girl. Akatsuki had fallen since the time when it had all its members. The new recruits weren't even strong enough to be considered S-class criminals.

As soon as the two had headed up the stairs to bother the poor sap that ran into them, I headed off to Zetsu's room. I nocked on his door and he opened.

"**Ready?"** he asked casually.

"Yep." I said

Grabbing my arm he dragged me through the ground and out into the open. We were at one of the gate entrances. Zetsu went straight through the wall and left me there. I grumbled and he came back through, grabbing my arm to take me through as well. There were very few guards at the entrance, and they were lazing around, one of them was even sleeping.

"This gate looks promising, Pein could easily get through." I said casually.

"Indeed." Zetsu replied.

"So uh, what gate are we at anyway?" I asked scratching the back of my head.

"The west gate." Zetsu said impatiently before continuing.

"**Where's the kyuubi?"** Zetsu asked after.

Looking for his chakra signature wouldn't be too hard since he had so much of it. I searched through the countless people in close proximity of us, but found no sign.

"We should head to town, he won't be out in the open since the other seven jinchuriki have already been taken." I stated knowingly.

"Hn." Zetsu replied.

We headed into town and I used a transformation jutsu to change my appearance. I changed into Kakashi, Zetsu eyed me curiously but I just ignored him. I walked into a ramen restaurant and was greeted by the owner.

"Hey, Kakashi. Here for some ramen?" The owner asked.

"Actually I was looking for Naruto, I heard rumors that he was in town." I said bored, while pulling out Icha Icha to make myself appear more like Kakashi.

"Tsunade's hiding him still, but if I see him come by, I'll tell you." The owner said slightly suspicions.

I just nodded and walked out reading the fake book. I met up with Zetsu and uncloaked myself. I relayed the information I had received to him. Zetsu nodded and took my hand. He headed through the ground and before I knew it we were in Peins' office.

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"Well?" I heard a deep voice rumble.

That was not Pein's voice I thought growling in agitation. I looked up and saw Madara sitting on Pein's desk. Pein was sitting in his chair behind Madara. I scowled but decided that the information needed to be said.

"The west gate seems promising, when we arrived the guards were sleeping and the wall was only three feet thick. You could easily destroy it." I told Pein, ignoring Madara. "Although it appears that the Jinchuriki is not in the village, Tsunade has him hidden." I said, still only speaking to Pein.

"Do not ignore me girl. You test my patience." Madara said threateningly.

"Oh, I seemed to have forgotten you were there." I said hinting at sarcasm.

"Mehio." Pein stated.

I looked down and submitted. My leader was Pein and Madara would never have my respect or my devotion.

Madara looked at me with an evil glint in his eyes, I snarled at him. Zetsu grabbed my shoulder and I decided that a fight would not be in my favor. Pein watched my defiance with slight enjoyment. She still considered him to be leader.

"Your rebelliousness is not tolerated." Madara stated, as he moved to slap me.

I held my ground and took the hit with no hint of pain. Madara growled and hit me again harder. I refused to give into him, and Madara moved to hit me again.

"Enough. The information we needed was retrieved." Pein said standing up.

"You may handle her defiance but I won't." Madara snarled at Pein.

"Madara, raising your voice is not necessary." Pein said stoically.

Madara backed away from me but didn't stop his death glare. Pein dismissed Zetsu but asked that I stay. Madara turned on his heal and left as well, leaving only myself and Pein.

"Why do you defy him?" Pein asked seriously.

"He is not who I signed up under." I said with distaste.

"…"

"He treats me like garbage, I am not permitted to move around the base as I like and he allowed those weaklings to enter the Akatsuki." I said ignoring his silence.

"Your insolence insults me as well, you know. When you act out, it questions my leadership!" Pein said standing up.

"I respect you! Not him! I never will respect him! You Are My Leader!" I replied back to him yelling.

Madara smirked as he listened in on our conversation. The girl had a strong will, he wished to break her so that he could use her in his war plans. But as her last words tumbled out of her mouth his smirk faded. She respected Pein, but not himself. He glowered and walked down the hall, forming a plan to break her spirits.

Pein walked over to my smaller form, towering over me. He bent forward inches away from my face and spoke again.

"Then I order you to tolerate him." Pain said as his breath fanned across my face.

"Fine." I said lowering my gaze.

Pein moved back to his desk and sat down.

"You will come to Konoha with me tomorrow." Pein said

"Alright." I said to him, still looking down.

"Do not insult my status any longer." Pein said

"I won't guarantee that I won't yell at him." I said smirking at Pein.

I turned around and left the room, missing Peins own smirk. I walked down the hall and down the stairs to my room. I walked in and headed for the shower. I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the warm water. There was a slight noise in my room and I looked up as I began putting the shampoo in my hair. I dismissed the noise though, believing that it was probably just Zetsu.

When I was done in the shower, I stepped out and looked in the mirror. The bruising on my face was not attractive. It spread across my cheek and was a darkening blue. Sighing, I put on my pajamas, and brushed through my hair. I didn't want to heal my face and waste chakra, since I was going to have to fight tomorrow. So I left the bathroom and maneuvered myself over to my bed. I stiffened though as I saw the glowing red eye staring at me through the darkness.

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"I liked you better as Tobi." I said slightly on edge as I moved to my bed.

"Oh?" Madara asked.

"Yeah, he was cute and innocent." I said as I got into bed.

"And I'm not?" Madara asked again.

"You're demanding and definitely not innocent." I said lowly.

"Cheeky brat." Madara muttered.

"Don't mean to be rude, but will you go, so I can sleep." I said angrily

"Do not talk with the authority that you do not have." Madara said as he grabbed my throat.

I snarled at him and thrashed against him. His grip tightened and he pushed me into the bed harder. He hit me in the face and I bit back the scream that threatened to come. He smirked at the small attempts at freedom I made, but didn't loosen his hold.

I snapped my hands and a dragon appeared, it immediately racked its razor sharp claws down Madaras back. Madara turned his attention to the dragon and let go of my throat. I gasped and fingered the spot were he had choked me. Madara went to put a kunai in the dragon, but I snapped my hands and the dragon disappeared. I didn't want the animal to get hurt, and I wasn't exactly sure of what Madara was capable of. Madara spun around and focused his attention back to me.

"That was not wise girl." Madara said baring his teeth.

I jumped out of bed and onto the other side, away from him. He was behind me in an instant, I whirled around only to be hit in the face. I crashed into a wall and my head hit it sickeningly. Madara walked over to me and stepped on my already abused neck. I groaned and blood trickled out of my mouth.

"Do not disobey my orders anymore, understand." Madara stated coldly.

"…"

Madara smirked, she was tough to break. He held his foot on me until I stopped thrashing, then he let go and walked off. I panted and took in air as I watched him leave. I tried to stand up and immediately collapsed. Blood was dripping out of my mouth and onto the floor, I cringed. The only thing I could think about was Konan, who was going to kill me for getting blood on her floor. I attempted once more to stand and then blacked out.

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Pein heard the crash from his floor near the roof and narrowed his eyes. He listened for a little longer, but heard nothing else. Madara walked into Pein's office soon after, with a look of satisfaction on his face. Madara just walked by and headed into a room off to the side of Pein and Konan's room. There was blood on the collar of Madara's shirt and Pein widened his eyes slightly. He stood up after Madara was in his room and headed downstairs.

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A large cat ran up the steps intending to pounce on Pein. Pein looked up in time to see the cat running right at him, and stepped to the side. Lushirio stopped and growled darkly. Pein eyed the tiger curiously, usually the beast was fairly calm. The cat huffed in irritation; this was not the man that had hurt his master. Flicking his tail, the cat bounded back down the stairs to Mehio's floor. Pein followed the mighty cat and noticed Mehio's door was open.

Walking into the room he saw the dent in the wall. There was blood on the black carpet along with its rightful owner. Lushirio growled from his place next to her. Pein walked forward and inspected Mehio. Her face was black and blue and there were hand imprints on her neck. The blood dripping out of her mouth was a bad sign.

Zetsu walked in and stopped dead in his tracks. Pein was crouching over Mehio's crumpled form on the floor.

"**What happened?" **Zetsu asked angrily.

"I don't know." Pein said gravely.

Zetsu looked around, noticing the indents and the blood. The large cat on the floor was curled around Mehio in a protective ball, although he didn't seem angry with the orange haired man.

Pein looked at the plant man in front of him and asked him to leave. Zetsu retreated, although not without slight unease. Pein picked up Mehio and laid her down on the bed. It was ruffled he noticed; she must have been in bed when the attack happened.

I moaned in pain as I tried to sit up. Pein watched me with unblinking eyes. I managed to sit up and realized I was in my bed. My eyes flashed around, landing on Pein. I relaxed slightly, bringing my hand up to my aching neck.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" Pein asked in agitation.

"…"

"This is Childs play to him, next time he will not hold back." Pein said angrily.

"…"

Pein looked away with a sigh and sat on the bed next to me. I didn't look at him, I just sat in silence.

"Heal your wounds." He said after a while.

I moved my hand up and healed the wound on the back of my head that was probably a concussion, and then I healed the bruising on my features. I ran my hand over my waist and cringed at the protruding bone, I quickly set it back in place and applied some light healing chakra. When I was done I rolled over and ignored him.

Pein grabbed my shoulder and flipped me around so that I was looking at him.

"Why did he attack you?" Pein asked running a hand through his hair in agitation.

"I may have overstepped my boundaries." I said quietly.

Pein looked at me with cold calculating eyes and I glared back at him. He stood up after a while realizing that that was all he was going to get out of me.

"I expect you up and ready to go when I come to get you." Pein said leaving.

I grabbed his cloak so that he would turn around. Looking away I mumbled something that was barely audible.

"Thank you."

Pein just nodded and then left. I curled back over and went to sleep.

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	9. Destruction

Update: So just a reminder, Pein is not being controlled by Nagato, but he still has the six paths of pein. This chapter is the set up for the next one which is probably my favorite. Hope my story has a good cliff hanger at the end XD.

(I do not own Naruto or the characters. *Just Mehio, my OC*)

I woke up to a knocking at my door. I growled, it was early and I was physically and emotionally drained. I also didn't want to have to face Pein this morning.

"What?" I asked exasperated.

"**Breakfast."** Zetsu said

I grumbled and got up. I rummaged through my dresser and found a pair of clothes to wear. I pulled them on as I headed to the bathroom. I brushed through my hair and put on some eye liner. Then I made sure my boots were tight and slipped a kunai into both boot pockets. I summoned my sword, sheathed it on my side, and then I summoned my bow and slung it on my back with the arrows. Lushirio sat up from my bed and yawned, showing all of his razor sharp teeth. I grinned at him and slipped on my Akatsuki cloak. Then I headed to the door and walked out.

Zetsu eyed me, noticing that the bruises were gone. She must have healed herself, he thought.

"Are you okay?" Zetsu asked.

"As good as I'm going to get." I said grumpily.

We walked down the hall and I felt the chakara of the new members. Great, I can't be seen by them so now I have to wait, I thought as we reached the stairs. I halted and sat on the first stair.

"When do they leave?" I said quietly with slight agitation hinting in my voice.

"They are heading **out now."** Zetsu said.

"Good."

We waited around ten minutes for them to leave and then continued downstairs. Kisame had breakfast out on the table, although most of it was gone. Sasuke and the newbie's must have come down to eat the food. Zetsu and I ate with Kisame and he joked about how dumb the new members were. We finished up and then I washed the dishes. Pein came in just as I was finishing, announcing that it was time to go.

"Alright! Jeez! See you later guys." I said to Kisame and Zetsu.

I followed after Pein as we walked down the hall. Konan joined us not long after. She looked over my features and I realized Pein must have told her. I sighed and pretended not to notice her stare.

Along the way, more people had joined us. They all had orange hair and piercings. I frowned and gave Pein a questioning look. Pein saw my look and decided to explain.

"I have summoned the six paths of pain for this job, the nine tails is the strongest bijuu and Konoha actually like there jinchuriki." Pein said emotionlessly.

"…Right so that means that we'll have the whole village on our ass." I said grumbling.

"Most likely." Pein said emotionlessly.

"I still want you to keep yourself hidden." Pein added.

"Then what the heck was the point in coming?" I asked in agitation.

"…" Konan shifted.

"You are to keep an eye on Tsunade and Kakashi, although I want you in disguise. Kill a lower ninja and pose as him." He said simply, like he was taking out the trash.

"Fine." I said hotly, although secretly, I was happy that I wouldn't have to fight.

We continued on for about an hour in relative silence except for Pein and Konan's quiet talking. I ignored them and decided to think about my mission.

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It took three days to reach Konoha's gate, without Zetsu's teleportation jutsu. We stayed in a few inns along the way, and of coarse there were only two beds. Konan claimed one of the beds and Pein the other. I didn't want to share a bed with either one, so I ended up on the floor. It wasn't that Konan was mean or anything, it's just that the beds where twin beds and not very big. So, I ended up sleeping on the floor. Thankfully Konan was generous enough to give me one of her pillows and there happened to be an extra blanket in the closet. But over all my back hurt and I was grumpy.

However we eventually made it, I sighed in relief as I saw the gates in the distance. I was lost in thought though and wasn't paying attention when we finally reached the gate. Pein stopped near the gate, but I was still fine tuning my plan and I ended up running into him.

"Ouch." I mumbled.

Pein just gave me a disapproving look and I grumbled and backed up.

"So are you going to blow up the wall?" I asked

He didn't answer me and instead walked off in a different direction. I was going to follow him but Konan held me back. I looked at her questioningly but stayed put, with the creepy copycat pein's.

Pein walked towards the unsuspecting group of ninja outside the gates. They didn't register the presence of his chakara and Pein easily approached them.

"Woah, is this guy an Akatsuki." One of the men asked.

Pein said nothing and quickly killed the man. The other three immediately took a stance. Two of the men ran foreword to restrain Pein, hoping the other would be able to report to Tsunade. Pein easily dispelled them and using almighty pull, killed the last man.

The copycat pein's began moving in the direction Pein had headed and Konan followed. I followed after them and was met with the bloody scene. It didn't even faze me; I walked through the bodies and stood next to Pein. He gestured to the bodies and I looked at him questioningly.

"Choose which one you will disguise yourself as." Pein said nonchalantly.

"I don't even get to be female?" I mumbled under my breath as I chose the most decent looking guy.

He had short brown hair and dark eyes, with a nice sturdy build. Bending over I studied his figure and then created my disguise, making sure to get his features correct.

Pein watched my actions in silence and then proceeded to give the others jobs. I watched as the smaller of the copycats was picked up and then tossed over the gate.

As soon as the small Pein touched the ground, she summoned the others.

Pein quickly told me to enter and do my job, then he poofed in a cloud of smoke with all the other pein's and Konan. I stood in silence for a moment and then sighed. I walked to the gate entrance and headed in. No one questioned me and I quickly realized why.

It had only been around two minutes since they had entered and already the town was in ruins. I looked around and saw the massive centipedes destroying buildings. There were also multiple rockets being launched at the buildings. The village was in chaos and the pein's were running rampant, killing mercilessly.

I immediately went in search of Kakashi, since I knew he would be out on the battle field. It didn't take long for me to find him, although I had to avoid random explosions and the writhing centipedes. He was fighting with the real Pein and the burly looking fake one. I stayed back and watched the fight.

Kakashi and the two fat people were losing, although they had managed to squish the burly pein. They looked tired and I knew they would fail; Pein was infinitely stronger than them. After some attempts at figuring out Pein's fighting technique the group decided to attack him head on. Kakashi acted as bate for Pein, while the other two moved off to the side. Pein took the bate and moved in and took Kakashi by the neck. I watched in horror as Kakashi's struggles were rendered useless. Then I saw two boulders come out into the middle. It was the two fat people, that must have been there family jutsu, I thought. They bulldozed into Pein and I was tempted to intervene. However, there actions were useless. With Pein's control over gravity they were merely pushed aside.

Kakashi was thrust backward with the other two and ended up covered to the neck in debris. I turned away as Pein picked up a nail and hurled it in Kakashi's direction. I turned away not wanting to see the outcome. I was loyal to Pein but Kakashi had been a friend and watching him die was not preferable. It wouldn't have mattered though, since Kakashi deflected the nail with his sharingan.

One of the two fat people was on the verge of death while the other was severely wounded. Pein left after weakening Kakashi to the point of death. However the burly pein remained, just not in the best shape. The wounded boy stood up and the pein focused his gaze on him while preparing a missile, to shoot him with.

"Tell Tsunade his fighting style and weakness, Choji." I heard Kakashi's slumped form murmur.

The guy presumably named Choji, ran off in the direction of Tsunade. The pein then decided that he should fire his missile. The projectile was fast and would have hit Choji if it had not been for Kakashi. He used his sharingan to dispel the weapon. Both the pein and Kakashi fell and I knew for sure that Kakashi would perish.

I walked over to him and looked around cautiously. The copycat pein looked dead so I decided it would be okay. Kakashi had used up all of his chakra and the exhaustion from it was killing him. I knew that I probably shouldn't be doing this, but I would regret it later if I didn't do something. I bent over him and placed my hand on his chest. I pushed some of my chakra into his body and healed one of his more serious wounds. When I was done I got up and left. Kakashi wouldn't fully heal for at least a month and he would die if someone didn't come to give him medical attention, however I had given him a chance to live and that was all I was offering him.

Following the path Choji had taken, I ended up at the Hokage tower. I flinched slightly at the memory of my imprisonment until I noticed the distant figure in the sky. Shielding my eyes lightly I squinted. It was Pein, the real Pein. I watched him in surprise, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around preparing to fight, when I realized who it was. The Female pein copycat, grabbed my arm and started running off in a direction away from the village. As soon as we were out of the village she performed a jutsu and all the copycats appeared along with Konan.

Konan had a worried expression on her face while the others held no expressions. I looked back up to see Pain. He was still in the sky.

Before I could ask what was going on, all the copycats dropped to the ground. I looked at them in surprise, but was pulled out of it when a thundering explosion pierced my ears. I looked back and saw the crumbling forms of buildings. I gasped, it was like someone had dropped an atomic bomb. As the smoke began to clear, it became apparent that the entire village was gone. There was just an empty space with debris.

The majority of the town would live thanks to Tsunades slug summoning, but there were still many casualties. The place was in utter ruins, not a building in sight. Bodies littered the ground, some dead and some alive. The majority of the living ninja were healing or tending to the civilians. Tsunade was on the ground with Shizune hovering around her in worry. I focused my attention back to Pein and noticed the frogs.

Pein had moved back down to the ground and was looking at the damage he had inflicted. Naruto was standing in the center along with a few frogs. Naruto radiated his anger at the man who had destroyed his village. While Pein stayed emotionless, simply watching his opponent.

"What… happened?" I asked

"Pein used his almighty push and destroyed the town." Konan said slightly unnerved.

"… and them?" I asked gesturing to the fallen copycats.

"Pein couldn't control them while he was doing such a complex jutsu…" Konan said trailing off.

Konan sat down and I followed her example. The copycats stayed were they were, so I assumed that Pein didn't have enough chakra to control them. On further inspection of the copycats, I realized they were just bodies. After my examination I stayed put for about ten minutes. There was an enraged sound that was emitted from something inside Konoha and I immediately stood up. Especially once I saw the body of the nine tails emerge into my sight.

I ran back into Konoha before Konan could argue with me. Pein was panting but still held the emotionless features he always held. There was a girl with long black hair in the chaos. She was injured but would probably live. I paid her no heed and immediately made my way towards Pein.

The beast charged Pein and he countered with an almighty push. But the beast was only put off for a moment, before it charged again. It sliced Pein's torso and I panicked. Just as the beast was about to swipe again at Pein, I intervened. Rushing forward I stood in front of him, giving him a smirk before being shoved down into the ground by the nine tails.

Pein looked surprised for a moment before becoming angry, he moved towards me but the beast swiped at him again. Once again he was knocked down. I immediately pulled myself up to defend my wounded Leader.

"Leave" Pein told me in an angry manner, which I wasn't used to.

"…"

"I don't need your help." Pein said straining to regain his composure.

I whistled loud and clear and Lushirio arrived. I told the cat to grab Pein and go, with a series of hand signals that only he understood. The nine tails swiped at me again and I dodged shooting an arrow. Lushirio rushed Pein and grabbed him by his Akatsuki cloak, Pein fought the animal but Lushirio paid no heed to the flailing man. Pein was tired, that was obvious to me. He had managed to control five bodies and used a high level jutsu to wipe out Konoha after all.

"Konan." I told the large cat.

Lushirio gave a low growl and again I was swiped by the nine tails. Lushirio immediately moved towards me. I gave him a low growl of my own and glared at him hard. He hissed in agitation but did as he was told.

Pein looked at my small form fighting the beast, and cursed his situation.

"Get back." He ordered.

I looked at him mischievously as Lushirio took off into the air. Pein snarled and spoke a few inaudible words that I couldn't hear. As soon as he was out of immediate danger I faced the beast head on.

It opened its mouth and emitted a ball of chakara straight at me. I summoned three dragons to cover me but it was in vain. The dragons were killed and I was badly burned. The beast walked foreword and racked its burning claws down my side.

I cried out lightly and tried to move away. After about ten minutes of being clobbered by the kyuubi I passed out and assumed death was close.

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**Pein**

Konan looked up in surprise when the large cat landed next to her. What was even more surprising was the man being held by the beast.

"Pein?" Konan asked.

"Hn." He replied.

Konan walked over to him and immediately removed him from the large cats grasp. Lushirio looked indifferently at them and then bounded off back in the direction he had come.

Pein sat up and pushed Konan away from him. She tried to protest but he silenced her with a wave of his hand. He was running out of patience, partly because of his own weakness and Mehio's stupidity. He needed to get Mehio back. But with his weakened state, it was almost impossible for him to attempt a rescue.

"We need to get back to base." Pein said straitening up.

"But Pein… your injuries." Konan said looking at the weakened man who had multiple fractures and bloody wounds on his body.

"That is of little importance; Mehio was foolish and has gotten herself captured. We need to assemble the remaining Akatsuki and retrieve her." Pein said as he headed off in the direction of the Hidden Rain.

Konan realized that Mehio was indeed missing and immediately began worrying for the girl. Mehio was strong but torture would break her.


	10. Despair

Hey, so I guess I'm not very good at cliff hangers, since I only made all of you wait a day lol. This chapter is pretty gruesome, or at least I tried to make it gory. Hopefully you like it.

(I do not own Naruto or the characters. *just my OC Mehio*)

**Pein**

When Konan and Pein arrived at the base, they were surprised to find the remaining Akatsuki members out in the rain.

"What is the meaning of this?" Pein asked warily.

"**Madara."** Zetsu said angrily.

"What?" Pein asked icily.

"He said something about not needing Akatsuki anymore." Kisame said with a frown.

"It appears that with team Taka and Kabuto on his side, **we are no longer needed."** Zetsu's black side said getting to the point.

Pein ran a hand through his hair in agitation and he looked around angrily.

"There's something else…. It seems that Madara decided to take something of ours…" Kisame said quietly.

"What?" Pein asked his eyes flashing to the blue man.

"Madara stole the bijuu we collected." Zetsu said avoiding eye contact.

"What were you doing while all of this was going on?" Pein asked bitterly.

"Madara had his new sharingan puppet cast a genjutsu on us." Kisame said in disgust.

"Where is Mehio?" Zestu said finally noticing that his partner was missing.

"… She was captured." Konan said moving forward into the two men's view.

"What the Hell!" Kisame said loudly.

"We will retrieve her." Pein said dangerously. "We need her for our revenge on Madara and I refuse to leave a comrade." Pein said after.

"Good, I need to smash some heads." Kisame said grinning.

Pein walked by furiously as he headed to the base. Once inside he told the members to meet him in an hour for the retrieval mission. All agreed and Pein headed upstairs to rest. Konan followed him and sat down on the bed next to him. He looked at her and she reached out a hand to heal some of the more serious wounds.

There relationship was purely of friendship, they had tried to go further, but they weren't compatible. When the hour had passed Pein stood up and headed downstairs to brief his men, Konan had healed his wounds and his chakra was strengthening by the minute.

Kisame and Zetsu were waiting in the kitchen when Pein and Konan headed in. Pein had a glint in his eyes that could be considered hatred, but those who didn't know him well, would simply find him to look indifferent.

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**Konoha**

When I woke up, I immediately cursed myself. I had been captured it seemed, my arms were cuffed to the medical bed I was in, and my chakra was almost completely depleted. I pulled at my confines and looked around. The room was too bright, the stupid lights blinded me, and the walls were very white. The smell of peroxide and cleaning detergents filled my nose and I curled my lip at the smell.

When my eyes adjusted enough for me to see, I noticed the person in my room. It was Kakashi, he had a cast on his arm and looked pretty beat up, but he was alive. I looked at him in exasperation and shook my arms as best as I could in protest. He just looked at me warily and I rolled my eyes.

"You're such a baby, afraid of a girl who has no chakra." I said tauntingly.

"Akatsuki don't get privileges." He replied.

"Pft… I should have just let you die." I said unhappily.

"…"

" You would have died if it hadn't been for me, you were completely out of chakra and I saved you by transferring some of my own." I said regretfully to him.

"Sakura healed me." Kakashi said defensively.

"Please, that girl may be training under Tsunade but her skill level would have been no match for the wounds Pein inflicted on you. Although, I did leave you before completely healing you, so technically you would have died without her help. But without my help in the first place, you would have been dead when she got there." I said closing my eyes in exhaustion.

"Why would an Akatsuki help me?" Kakashi asked suspiciously.

"Come on Kakashi, even Akatsuki have hearts, I consider you a friend and I decided that it would be wrong to watch you die." I said

"Thank you." Kakashi said awkwardly.

"Well, you know what would be nice, there's this gaping hole in my stomach that no one has healed and it's really starting to burn." I said feigning pain.

Kakashi got up and headed out promising to bring back a nurse in the next thirty minutes to heal my wound.

I smirked, Kakashi was such a sucker. The wound on my stomach was real and it was smarting a little, but I was an Akatsuki and this was nothing. Gathering my strength I rolled the bed over. I landed on my stomach with an oof and cursed my landing. Carefully sitting up, I got to my feet. The bed dragging down my back with my arms still attached to it.

I used the very little chakra that I had and braced the bed slightly. Then I moved over to the window and climbed out.

I started heading away from the makeshift hospital, which in reality was just a bunch of tents, since Pein had destroyed the village. I laughed lightly at the situation. A runaway Akatsuki member with a bed strapped to her back. I kept walking staying behind the tents until I could see the forest.

I turned a corner and immediately cursed my bad luck. Kakashi was standing there with his arms crossed looking at me unhappily. I pouted at him and then sighed in defeat.

"You aren't helping your cause." Kakashi stated.

"The elders want you dead, but Tsunade told them that you have important information. They ordered me to bring you to Ibiki." Kakashi stated.

"Ibiki? Who the heck is that, I won't give away any of Akatsuki's secrets anyway." I told him with an unwavering smile.

Kakashi grabbed my arm and unstrapped my wrists, then dragged me down the street. I fought against him for a little while but my chakra was very low and eventually I just gave up. He brought me into a room with a chair in the middle. A man with a scar lining his face walked out of the dark corner and smirked at me.

"So, you escaped? I'm surprised, but you won't be able to escape me." He said cruelly.

"Oh… so you're Ibiki, and here I was expecting someone monstrous." I said tauntingly

He just glowered at me and dismissed Kakashi. Kakashi looked at me with guilt showing in his eyes but I ignored him. The scarred man grabbed my wrists roughly and sat me down in the chair. He tied me up to the chains hanging down from the ceiling and then cuffed my ankles. I looked at him with a glare and he just smirked.

He pulled up a chair and sat in front of me, giving me a slight frown.

"Look, I'm not that bad of a guy, but I need to get information and if you don't give it to me I will revert to torture." Ibiki said with slight concern.

" Where did Mr. Nice Guy come from, all of a sudden?" I replied, sarcastically.

"…"

"I'll answer questions that don't concern Akatsuki." I continued, unemotionally.

"That is not the cooperation I am looking for." Ibiki stated in warning.

He sighed and then stood up and moved over to a closet on the side of the room. He opened it up and I caught a glimpse of all the different torture devices, I cringed and looked away.

He came back with a whip that had all kinds of studs on it; he also had a kunai that looked… well used. I refused to show any emotion from his presence so I just looked away and kept a straight face. He seemed to admire the cruel devices for a moment before deciding that he should start the questioning.

"What are Akatsuki's goals?" Ibiki asked.

"…"

He cracked the whip and hit me dead on in the back; the studs made contact and ripped at my flesh. I stiffened and clenched my teeth, but showed no other outward appearances of pain.

"What are Akatsuki's goals?" Ibiki asked again

"…"

Again the whip made contact and ripped at my flesh. I bit back the scream and stayed silent.

The brutal whipping continued for around an hour or so, although it felt like an eternity. His questions changed every five minutes and I answered none of them. They were questions like: "Why does Pein want Naruto?"; "What is your role in Akatsuki?"; "Is it true that Madara is alive?"; "What village are you a missing ninja from?" They were all stupid questions and I almost answered the last question just to confuse the guy but decided against it.

He seemed to get bored with the whippings after a while and realized he was getting no where with it anyway. So, he decided that cutting my body was a better technique. My hunched over form was battered and bruised already, my back was bloodied and there wasn't a piece of flesh on it. The blood continued to run down my back and pool around my feet, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. I lifted my head and looked at him tiredly, I had eventually started making anguished noises with the constant whippings but I refused to cry or plead with him.

He started up the questioning again, using the same questions as before, only now instead of whipping me he slashed jagged marks into my skin. The cuts varied, some were deep, others just long. He cut every inch of my body except for my eyes, mouth and privates. I was relieved with these slight acts of kindness, but my body still ached. Tsunade had probably ordered Ibiki not to mutilate me in such ways.

He continued his ravishing's on my body, until I was barely conscious, none of his questions were answered but he had to take a break for the day.

Ibiki stretched and dropped the kunai on the ground and then headed out of the room, leaving me chained to the chair wounded. Torture sucks, you can't fight back and the wounds run deep emotionally and physically.

I sat in the bloody room for an hour with my eyes closed, trying to find slight comfort in the rest I was given. A few hours later and Ibiki walked in again. He had a bowl in his hands as well as water, I wasn't hungry though.

"Answer one of my questions and you can eat. Tsunade has stated that if you answer a question you will no longer have to be tortured." Ibiki said.

"…"

I closed my eyes again and tried to sleep, but the man was insistent.

"Don't you want your freedom?" He asked tauntingly.

"Don't you have pride?" I sneered

He looked at me blankly and I looked at him cunningly.

"I'd hate to have you in my village. If you got captured you would break so fast and give up all of your villages secrets, but me… I have pride, my loyalty lies with Akatsuki and I will not betray them." I said defiantly.

He looked at me with something close to respect but shrugged his shoulders.

"Your torture starts at five, tomorrow morning." Ibiki informed me.

I closed my eyes and again tried to sleep. When I did fall asleep I was plagued with nightmares of torture, the devices used on me, were the same ones I had seen in the closet and I whimpered in my sleep.

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I woke to the shuffling of feet on the floor. I lifted my head and immediately regretted it. Everything was sore; I moaned in pain but immediately silenced the noise. Ibiki continued to the closet and pulled out a few of his 'toys' as he had referred to them yesterday.

The device he pulled out made me shrink back, he had a device with metal teeth on it in one hand and a folded up table in the other. I looked at him in horror and immediately wished Pein would save me. Wait, Pein? Why not Zetsu or Kisame? Bah, my brain isn't working.

Ibiki brought the table over to me and unfolded it, the table looked normal but it had a weird device on the front of it. He unstrapped my hands and pulled them down to strap to the table. My hand was slipped into the contraption and my eyes widened in fear as I realized what it was. It was a finger nail remover.

I screamed as the first nail came off, trying to pull the device away from my hand, tears ran down my cheeks and I sobbed quietly as I prepared for the next nail.

An hour later and my hands no longer had nails, they were shaking and bloodied and I cringed in terror. I had answered none of his questions again and his impatience was starting to show.

He picked up the other device and I looked at him with hollow eyes, he unscrewed the metal teeth and placed it around my knee. I cried out as he cranked the device, it was slowly breaking my bone. He continued asking questions but the pain was so excruciating I couldn't hear him in the first place.

Five hours later and he had broken my knees, elbows, ankles, shoulders, and fingers. My head was slumped forward and I cried quietly.

He stood up and left me again. He didn't offer me a time for when he would come again.

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The next morning and Ibiki entered my room again. I whimpered from my place and looked at him in absolute terror. He offered me a way out of the situation again, but I shook my head in defiance.

He walked over to the closet and pulled out another metal device. Walking over to me he placed the object next to me. I cringed away from him but stayed put. He picked up the device and smacked it against my back. I heard the crack and screamed. Again he hit me and again I screamed.

After a while I couldn't feel the pain anymore, and it worried me even more. It meant that he had probably disconnected my spinal chord and I wondered how bad the damage was. Ibiki decided that my lack of a reaction wasn't enough. He walked over to a stove and picked up a pan, there was molten liquid inside and he brought the pan over.

He picked up a metal stick and dipped it in the boiling water. He placed the stick on my neck and I screamed.

This continued for a long time, the rest of the day. Everyday he came up with something different to do to me. I became less responsive and my appetite had left me completely. I was underweight and mortally wounded. My living conditions weren't any better, there was a pool of blood on the floor and since I didn't have a bathroom I was forced to use the floor. The stench was appalling and I had thrown up a few times as well.

On the fifth day, I heard the footsteps I had come to dread, walk down the hall. He was slower today, I thought, probably wanting to drag out my suffering.

Either that or it had finally been decided to just kill me. It didn't really bother me though, surprisingly. I would just be happy to have the suffering end.

The door opened and I didn't even bother looking up, I just whimpered quietly.

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	11. Recovery

Alright, so this chapter is really long -_-. Anyway, sorry for those out there expecting Zetsu to intervene. I'm setting up both pairs remember? So I'll probably make a poll or something soon, so that you can choose which pairing you like. Also, some of you may have noticed the crappy cover on the story, well that is what I picture Mehio as looking like. I just have no drawing skills. Anyway, that's about it.

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters ***except for my OC Mehio*)

Pein looked at the scene in distaste. The girl was completely unrecognizable. He took a step toward me and I flinched, still unknowing that my savior had come.

Pein made the last few steps and lifted my chin, so that I would look at him. Her eyes were completely glazed over and there was a scratch running down her left eye, as well as a bruise. Her cheeks were completely purple and had lacerations on them.

I looked at him in bewilderment, this was not Ibiki, but who was he. He was familiar, piercings and orange hair. I pondered for a moment, before I realized that it was Pein.

"…Pein?" I croaked

He moved his hand up to the restraints on my arms and broke them with his bare hands. I fell forward and hissed in pain. He caught me and gently held me up, as he removed my ankle chains. He reached around and tried to pick me up, but I cried out. He looked at my back and saw the blood bath of wounds. Her back was completely raw, but that wasn't even the worst part, the bones were twisted into unrecognizable shapes. His face contorted in anger and he growled.

He changed tactics and carefully placed his hand on my thigh and picked me up so that my butt was being carried, while my back was free of being touched. I whimpered quietly, but allowed him to carry me out of the room. I wouldn't have been able to walk anyway; all of my joints were disconnected and broken.

There were dead bodies littering the ground around the torture wing, but I paid them no heed, Konoha had fallen in my eyes and the villagers along with it. Pein moved carefully and yet efficiently, he made sure to use the least amount of motion while going at a fast pace. He walked toward the center of the village and I saw the rest of Akatsuki. Even the pein's were present. Kisame was swinging his sword like a mad man in a crowd of at least one hundred while Zetsu had created an army of himself, to fight off Konoha. Konan was fighting with the Pein's and they were taking out multitudes of ninja every minute.

As soon as Konoha noticed the real Pein, everyone backed up; while the Akatsuki looked up to take in my battered appearance. Pein glared at anyone who looked in his direction and moved over to the rest of the organization.

Naruto immediately approached me and I looked over at him as best as I could. He looked at me in horror, but turned his gaze to Pein and pointed at him.

"What are you doing in our village you bastard!" Naruto yelled.

"Silence." Pein said, with complete authority.

"You have no right-" Naruto started.

"Don't be so quick to judge what you do not know." Pein stated.

"Your village is more corrupt than us, in a lot of ways." I croaked out.

Pein shifted and held me slightly closer, in a more protective stance. Naruto looked at my broken figure in realization and backed down.

With that, Pein walked over to the rest of the Akatsuki and they turned to leave.

"Aw man, I was just starting to get into a blood rage." Kisame pouted.

I giggled despite the pain and Kisame looked at me in concern. Zetsu was frowning and staring off ahead of him, he looked angry. Konan was murmuring medical remedies and making preparations to heal my broken body. Otherwise, the journey home was fairly quiet, Konoha had given up there attacks on us and had simply stayed put, not wanting to fight a losing battle. Especially since the group was leaving anyway.

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With the group taking turns carrying me, the trip was shortened and it only took a day, where as usually it would take around three.

When we reached the base Pein gently touched my arm and roused my sleeping form. He carried me up the stairs and into my room, the rest of Akatsuki following. Pein set me down on the bed and Konan walked over with a medical kit. She motioned for the male participants to leave, all looked hesitant to leave me, but decided to leave none the less.

Konan cut the tattered clothing off my body, leaving me almost completely nude, besides my undergarments. She gasped at the sight that assaulted her. Almost all of my bones were either fractured or broken and the rest of my body was mutilated in cuts and bruises. She took in my non existent finger nails and closed her eyes in disgust.

"I need to clean up your body, do you think you can make it to the bathroom?" Konan asked sympathetically.

"Yeah." I said hollowly, although Konan basically had to carry me to the bathroom.

I sat on the edge of the tub and she got a rag and a bucket of water to rinse the dirt and such off of my body. A few of the wounds were already infected, but by cleaning up the rest of my body, it would prevent the rest form doing the same.

When Konan was finished, she started to heal the most major wounds, which consisted of my broken back bones and the most grotesque of the broken bones in my arms and legs. It took around two hours, but by the end of the ordeal I felt much better, even though many of my bones were still broken or fractured. She had healed my serious wounds with healing chakara, but the rest were in casts. She excused herself from me afterwards, realizing that I probably wanted a bath.

Pein had filled the tub before he left, so there was already water in it. I undressed and gently eased myself into the water. It felt great, I hadn't been in a sanitary environment for five days and I relished in the warm water. I washed my body carefully and let all the grime that Konan had missed, fall off. When I was done I moved to the shower to rinse off.

Zetsu was sitting on my bed waiting for me to come out, when he heard the blood curdling scream in the bathroom.

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"Mehio?" He asked from the door, slowly opening it.

I was sitting in the corner of the shower with my hands over my ears and my eyes closed. He looked at me in confusion but saw my shaking form and walked closer to me.

Pein walked in a moment later and immediately scooped me up. Zetsu watched in silence as Pein held my shaking form. Pein turned off the shower and then draped a towel over my naked body.

"**What happened?"** Zetsu asked.

"I think one of the tortures used on her was water torture, the sound of the running water must have scared her." Pein said.

I opened my eyes a little after and looked around in a trance. As soon as I realized that I wasn't being tortured, I relaxed. Pein maneuvered me over to the shower and set me down. I grabbed the towel and held it around my naked form.

"Music should block out the sound of water." Pein stated.

"…"

I nodded and shooed the two men out. When they were gone I found an old radio and turned it up all the way. The music was deafening but it did its job and I was able to finish my shower.

When I was done I put on my Pajamas and got ready for bed, I maneuvered over to my bed and laid down, I was out like a light.

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Zetsu woke up to Mehio's screaming, she kept repeating 'No!' and he immediately got up and headed over to my room.

I was thrashing on the bed, my eyes tightly closed, with a snarl present on my features. He moved over to me and realized I was having a nightmare. He shook me lightly in an attempt to wake me, but it only made matters worse. My body stiffened and I shrieked, my eyes opened wide and I hit him.

At first I didn't recognize him, but when I did, I immediately pulled my hand away from him and backed up, hitting the back of my bed. He just watched me, a neutral expression on his face. Torture victims showed an array of different reactions. Some became quiet and scared, while others reacted like Mehio.

She looked confused and was trembling slightly; adrenalin pumped through her veins, thinking a fight was going to ensue. Zetsu sat on the side of my bed and stretched out a hand to try and calm me down.

I stayed were I was and kept my distance although I did murmur a 'sorry.'

"**Nightmare."** He stated.

I nodded.

Pein walked in a moment later, his hair was messy and he wasn't wearing a shirt. He walked over to my confused form questioningly.

"What's going on?" He asked tiredly.

"**Nightmare."** Zetsu stated again.

Pein's eyes trailed back to me and I flinched away, thinking he might hit me. I honestly knew that Pein wouldn't hurt me, but my brain was fuzzy and I was still traumatized. I pulled my legs up as best as I could and watched the two men.

Pein grabbed my waste and hauled me over his shoulder; I squeaked in surprise with his sudden action and then winced when the pain registered. He walked out of my room and up the stairs to his room. Zetsu just watched me go and I stayed completely still. Pein walked down the hall and up the stairs to his office and from there into another room.

His abode was larger than the others, there were four rooms. He walked through the living room and down the hall to a bedroom. He plopped me down unceremoniously on a bed and I looked at him in confusion.

"You're emotionally unstable and easier to handle when you're closer to me. You will be my partner for the time being, while Konan is going to be Zetsu's." Pein stated easily.

"…" I wasn't going to argue with him, but I didn't really like being switched for my 'mental instability'.

He maneuvered over to the opposite side of the bed, and climbed in keeping his back to me. I looked at him blankly and then crawled out of the bed. It was awkward, sleeping with your boss.

I walked over to the other side of his room and curled up on his couch. He raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't say anything. His couch was comfy and I fell asleep quickly.

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"No." I whispered "No more!" I yelled.

Pein was out of the bed in an instant and he picked me up holding me against him. I clawed at him, since I was still dreaming. He moved back to his bed and laid me down; he got in as well and pulled my body next to his. This was his idea of fixing the situation. Surprisingly, it worked and I calmed down and stopped thrashing. I curled up into his warm body and he eventually fell asleep as well.

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When I woke up, I was surprised to find a fully grown male sleeping next to me, especially since this male was Pein. My legs were a tangled up mass with his and I was entirely to close to him. He was still sleeping, his face holding the same authority as when he was awake. I pulled away from him and got out of bed, wanting to distance myself from the orange haired man.

I walked out of the room quietly and headed into the living room. Konan was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed. She looked up in surprise, at seeing me in this part of the building.

"Mehio?" Konan asked

"Yeah?" I asked

"…Never mind." She stated deciding that it was probably because of the incident.

I shrugged and walked out of the room. I headed out of Pein's office and down the stairs; I walked to my room and opened my door. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out some clothes to wear and then headed to the bathroom. When I entered, my eyes immediately flashed to the casts encompassed around my body, I had regained a quarter of my chakra back and decided that I could heal some of my wounds.

There were multiple scars lining my back, arms and basically everywhere, but I suppose it was better than it had looked before. I pulled off a few of the casts and used my blue healing chakra to set the bones completely. I looked over my work in satisfaction and then headed for the shower with a radio.

I came out fresh and clean, but something was off about the base. My eyes flashed around the room, but I didn't see any difference in appearance. I pulled on my boots and sheathed my kunai in there side pockets. Then I summoned my weapons of choice.

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I walked out of the room and walked over to Zetsu's, I knocked on his door and he answered.

"Hm." He said.

"Do you feel that?" I asked carefully.

"…Yes." He said stiffening.

He sunk into the floor and I felt his chakra signature leave. He came back a few minutes later with a frown.

"**Madara." **He stated.

I snarled under my breathe and looked around wearily.

"How far?" I asked

"**Five minutes."** He said unhappily.

I immediately walked around him and headed for the stairs. I turned around and beckoned for him to follow me. We headed downstairs and to the front door. Kisame was already standing there, he turned around and grinned at us. Pein and Konan came shortly after, both had grave faces.

"There are nine of them." Zetsu stated.

"Who?" Me and Pein asked at the same time.

I refused to look at him, I was still flustered about this morning.

"Madara, Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu, Juugo, Kabuto…" Zetsu paused for a moment "**And Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu**." His black side finished.

My eyes widened and I looked at him in surprise.

"There dead." I said knowingly.

"It seems that Kabuto has mastered impure resurrection." Pein said with his eyes closed.

"Dam, I'm glad I don't have to fight Itachi… I call killing Suigetsu." Kisame said smirking at the end.

Five other Pein's walked down the stairs in that moment and I looked at them casually. I had gotten used to them now, I suppose. The playing field was fairly even now; however that didn't mean that the odds were necessarily in our favor.

A moment later and I felt a flux of chakra approach.

"I will fight Madara." Pein stated

Everyone nodded and then we stepped outside. It was raining and the ninja approaching were drenched. Deidara refused to look at me; apparently he was here against his will. I looked over at the old Akatsuki members, the 'true' ones that is. There eyes were black, were they were supposed to be white and there skin was slightly cracked, but otherwise they looked very similar to there old selves.

"We come for what is rightfully mine." Madara stated.

"And what might that be." Pein replied evenly.

"Mehio." Madara said easily.

I wrinkled my nose and laughed.

"Since when have I ever been yours?" I said disrespectfully.

Madara glared at me and stepped forward, but Pein made the same move and stepped out to meet him. Madara looked displeased with the action and glared at the orange haired man. Pein had his usual stoic look.

The rest of Madara's group stepped forward and I looked at them. I stepped up to Pein, as well as the rest of our group. I was face to face with Sasori.

"Long time no see." I told him.

"Hn." He replied.

Deidara shifted uncomfortably and I smirked at him.

Madara and Pein were in a silent battle of sorts, sizing each other up with there eyes. Before I could even blink the two men disappeared. I looked slightly surprised at the spot were they had been. Then I focused my attention back to the men in front of me.

"I don't want to fight you." I told Sasori quietly.

He didn't answer, his look was blank and I pouted. He pulled up a hand and I looked at him in surprise as a puppet appeared. Thank god I had decided to heal some of my wounds, before coming to the fight. The puppet came at me and my eyes hardened, I barely dodged the attack. Sasori had still managed to cut the inside of my neck. I quickly summoned my dragon in defense. It immediately blew fire on the puppet-master in front of me. He dodged of course but his puppet was singed.

Konan was fighting with Karin and the red head was losing badly. It seemed like her only defense was to say 'Sasuke'. I snorted at the weak girl and looked at Zetsu who was fighting Juugo. There battle was evenly matched and both were fighting hard.

Kisame was fighting Suigetsu and the large blue man was smirking in amusement at the small fish, trying to take him down. The Pein's were fighting the rest and Deidara was in the air flying on his bird.

I returned my attention back to my own fight and summoned another dragon. It enveloped the red head and I watched quietly. Sasori used another puppet and scattered my dragon easily. Normally I would be fighting but my wounds were still smarting and my reflexes were bad. Using the first dragon to protect me I called the other dragon back to continue fighting,

But he seemed to realize my trick and raced forward until he was right in front of me, I gasped and took to the air on the dragon. He had skin now, I noticed in surprise. He noticed my starring and decided to comment.

"It seems in my resurrection, I inherited my old body." Sasori stated.

I nodded and we continued our fight. He pulled out a scroll and before I knew it, there were at least 100 puppets standing before me. My eyes widened, this was not good. But instead of attacking me, he directed the puppets at Kabuto.

The snake man looked up in surprise, and the Pein with the rockets took this chance to grab him. Sasori's puppet hit the man dead on and Kabuto fell silently.

The man was coughing up blood on the ground and Sasori walked over to him.

"No one controls me, but me." He stated.

With Kabuto no longer controlling the old Akatsuki members, they were able to do as they pleased. But I was unsure as to how long the jutsu would last.

The snake man hissed at Sasori and then his eyes went lifeless. Sasori turned to me and I smirked at him. Deidara and Kakuzu walked over as well and turned on there forced team. Sasuke looked frustrated with the situation. I smiled at him darkly. The rest of Madara's team retreated back and I looked at our new found comrades in happiness. I grinned at Deidara and walked over to give him a small hug, he looked at me in surprise.

"Dang it, I told you to tell me before you do something stupid." I said scolding the blond, although I wasn't really angry.

He chuckled and I looked at Sasori, as I made a move to hug him as well. He held out a hand, which I assumed meant, touch me and you die. I pouted at him and Kisame started laughing.

I looked around happily and then realized that Pein was still gone. Konan looked mildly concerned, so I voiced my worries. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see a smirking Pein.

I glared at him and he silently laughed at me. He stepped closer to me and whispered words only I could hear, into my ear. "Worried were we." He said.

Only a few in the group recognized his humor, because his facial expression was mostly the same as usual. It took someone who knew him well to understand that he was making fun of me. Konan seemed to notice and she chuckled quietly form her spot.

Pein looked at the old members, who were back now. He didn't know much about impure resurrection's time span, so he didn't know if it was temporary or permanent, but he welcomed the old members back with his usual coldness.

The group headed back into the building and I watched the members head over to the living room. Pein however, began walking upstairs.

"Pein?" I asked.

"Hn?" He replied pausing momentarily.

"How did you manage to escape Madara?" I asked.

"He had no choice but to retreat when his group of simpletons retreated back to there base." Pein stated casually.

His cloak was ripped on the side and I furrowed my eyebrows. I walked up the few stairs to Pein and moved his cloak so I could see the wound. A gaping whole met my gaze. I scowled at him and he tried to shrug me off.

"Tell me next time you decide to be careless." I mumbled.

"This is superficial, you haven't completely healed yet." Pein said trying to shrug me off.

I ignored him and healed his wound anyway and then headed for the living room. I moved over to the group, chatting on the couch. I squeezed myself in between Kisame and Deidara and listened to there conversation.

Kakuzu was ranting about money and wanting a bounty, Deidara was complaining about art with Sasori and how his ultimate explosion was true art. Kisame was listening to Kakuzu rant and laughing, while riling up the two artists at the same time. Zetsu was sitting in the arm chair across form the couch, he looked to be arguing with himself about something I couldn't hear. I chuckled to myself, the Akatsuki had the best personalities and yet they were treated the worst.

Finally Deidara decided that I was being to quiet.

"So anything interesting happen while I was gone, Yeah?" He asked directing the question to me.

"Uh… you know the usual." I said quickly.

Deidara furrowed his eyebrows slightly at my quick answer and Sasori looked at me with interest.

Kisame became quiet and looked away, while Zetsu made a point to continue arguing with himself as though Deidara hadn't spoken.

"What?" Deidara asked.

"What do you mean what, nothing interesting happened." I said trying to avert his questioning.

"Kisame…" Deidara pleaded.

I looked away and Kisame let out a sigh and then answered the nosy blonde.

"Mehio got captured." Kisame said

"What?" Deidara asked focusing his attention to me.

"Well, it's kinda embarrassing, yeah. But you know that's no reason to-" Deidara started.

"She was tortured." Zetsu interrupted unhappily.

Deidara closed his mouth and refocused his attention to me, noticing the bandaging for the first time that I had unsuccessfully hidden.

"I uh, have to uh, go." I said getting up and attempting to leave, away from the haunting memories and the degrading realization.

Sasori grabbed my arm and looked at me questioningly, I flinched as his arm grabbed at a wound that was still recovering.

"When did you get back?" he asked in as close to a concerned manner, as he was capable of.

"Yesterday." I said quietly.

Deidara's eyes widened and he fired off another question.

"How long?"

"Five days of torture." I said closing my eyes.

Pein walked into the room then, and looked at my unhappy form. He scanned the room and saw the atmosphere being projected. She had spoken of her torture, he thought unhappily. Not because it was degrading to Akatsuki, but because it would only cause her to remember the incident.

"Your items have been moved." He stated trying to avert the unwanted attention off of me.

"Okay." I said relieved that I wouldn't have to continue this conversation.

Wrong.

"Where did your stuff get moved?" The Men on the couch asked.

I forgot that Kisame and Zetsu were unaware of the arrangements and Sasori, Kakuzu, and Deidara couldn't know.

"Zetsu, your new partner is Konan for the time being. Sasori and Deidara are partners again and Kakuzu and Kisame, you are now partners." Pein stated.

"Wait, I get our arrangement but why isn't Mehio on Zetsu's team anymore." Kisame asked.

"It will be easier for me to watch her this way." Pein stated.

"What the heck are you talking about, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"**Nightmares and small actions provoke her into attacking."** Zetsu guessed.

"What?" Deidara asked.

"I have nightmares, okay? I can't even get in a shower without having a mental breakdown." I said clenching my fists angrily.

"…"

I tried to leave again but Sasori pulled me back. Jeez he was bent on holding my injured arm wasn't he?

Konan walked into the room and saw the looks of sympathy directed at me. She glared at Kisame hard, implying that he needed to say something to get the negative attention off me.

"Uh… anybody want to play ultimate twister?" he asked, a devious twinkle forming in his eyes.

"Yeah, un" Deidara said happily.

"Twister?" Pein asked confused.

"Haven't you ever played?" I asked him.

"No… I don't have time for games." He stated.

Kisame jumped up and grabbed the game, he spread it out on the floor and picked up the spinning device grinning.

Pein eyed the game and Konan chuckled from her spot. Deidara moved over to the game board and Zetsu took this chance to run out of the room, before I tried to convince him to play. Kakuzu watched from the couch, and Sasori attempted to leave but I pouted.

"Danna, you have to play." Deidara pleaded. I nodded in agreement and Sasori rolled his eyes.

I looked at Pein expectantly and he finally gave in and walked over to the game. Konan sat down next to Kakuzu to watch, she knew that it would be a sight to see the leader play a childish game. I sat off to the side and watched the men get ready to play as well.

"Aren't you going to play?" Deidara asked

"I would like to but it's not a good idea…" I said trailing off.

Deidara seemed to understand and let the subject drop.

"Right arm blue." Kisame stated.

They continued playing for five minutes before things got uncomfortable. Pein was over Deidara vertically and Sasori was trapped under Deidara's arms.

Kisame was laughing along with Konan who couldn't help but laugh at the funny positions. Kakuzu was trying to get Kisame into a bet on who would win, but the fish wasn't budging.

Kisame got one more color in before Kakuzu sneezed. Deidara jumped and hit Sasori who fell on the floor with the blond collapsed over him sideways.

Pein was still in the correct positioning and not the least bit fazed. He looked up at me, with a blank look and then back at a laughing Kisame.

"Now what?" He asked.

"You won." I said, fighting back a laugh that wanted to break free from my expression.

Sasori and Deidara got up and Pein stood up effortlessly after them.

Deidara was pouting as he walked out with the embarrassed puppet master. I laughed lightly at the pair and then tried to leave as well.

"What is the reward for winning?" Kakuzu asked questioningly.

Dam.

"He gets… He gets a kiss." Kisame said smirking at me deviously.

I glared at him and Pein turned to look at me with a hint of humor in his eyes.

"Well?" He asked.

"I'm not going to kiss you." I said, my face turning bright red.

Kisame laughed at me and I turned my head and flared my arms, flabbergasted. Kakuzu was betting with Kisame about me wimping out, while Kisame said that I would do it.

"I don't see what the problem is; you gave the last winner a kiss." Kisame stated, making sure not to mention that that man had been Madara.

I sighed and turned back to Pein, he looked at me in amusement and I scowled.

"Fine." I said.

I stood up on my toes and quickly attempted to kiss his cheek. However my attempt was in vein, Pein turned his head in that moment and I ended up kissing his lips. My whole face turned completely red and I looked at him in surprise.

Kisame was looking at me with a smirk and Kakuzu was scowling at me in unhappiness, about losing the bet. Konan looked shocked and Pein had a neutral look. I moved away and hurried off, out of the room and as quickly as possible up the stairs.

I had Konan's room now, which was on the opposite side of Pein's abode. I walked in and closed the door, locking it tightly.

I climbed into bed and ran a hand over my lips. He did that on purpose, was all that I could think about, before finally falling asleep.


	12. Creeper

Yay, another chapter ^::^. I made a poll for your votes, but either I'm just technically handicapped or it's not possible to post it to the story, lol. Thus, the poll is on top of my profile page, which isn't much to look at -_-. But that's not the point, how everyone votes on the poll, will determine the outcome of the story so please vote :3. I digress, continuing about the story now. Madara is a creeper, so don't be surprised XD. Pein is really cute in this chapter too XP.

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters ***Just me OC Mehio*)

When Pein came up about an hour later, he could hear whimpering from my room. He walked over to where the sound was coming from and attempted to open the door, when he realized it was locked. He frowned at the handle, why had she locked the door.

I screamed loudly and began thrashing around in my bed. Pein heard the screech and pulled the handle off the door. He slid the door open and took in my appearance. My back was arched and stiffened and I kept repeating 'it hurts, no more'. He looked at my writhing form and then moved over to me.

"It hurts." I murmured again.

Pein shook me lightly, in an attempt to wake me up. My eyes opened wide and I pushed him back, snarling. My fuzzy mind didn't comprehend that I was not in a torture chamber. My eyes were glazed over and I sat up in a defensive, almost feral crouch. Pein watched my actions in silence, analyzing my mental condition.

I started moving backward and off the bed. I backed up and hit the wall, I looked at Pein warily. In my eyes, he was Ibiki, the torturer.

Pein walked toward my form slowly, as though I was a scared kitten. He got to close and I snapped. Any mental stability I had was gone, as I summoned my sword. I sliced at him and hit his chest head on. He didn't even flinch as he moved down to pick me up. My face became panicked and I tried to get away from him. He grabbed me easily and hauled me over his shoulder. I dropped the sword and it clattered on the ground.

I started clawing at his shirt and thrashing in his hold but he held me quietly still. Finally he decided to speak.

"Mehio." He stated calmly.

I froze at the sound of his voice and immediately stopped my thrashing. My eyes became unglazed and I started sobbing. The mental breakdown had to come eventually, I suppose. He brought me back over to the bed and set me down.

The humiliation was eating at me and I tried to look away, to no avail. Pein grasped my chin and moved it up, so that I was forced to look at him. I wrapped my arms around his waste and cried quietly. He watched me calculatingly; her breakdown was a show of the mental trauma inflicted on her. She had denied release of her built up emotions and attacked him in an unseeing rage.

Pein sat down on the bed and pulled me into his lap, I whimpered quietly and he maneuvered himself and me into the bed. I burrowed my face into his chest, until my body started to relax, and the strange hiccup sobs ceased to exist.

When I had finally calmed down, I looked down to his open chest wound. I put my hands on the wound and carefully healed it up. He watched me in silence, as I worked. When I was done, he striped himself of the bloody garments and was left only in his boxers. I looked away from the scene and sat up to change my own bloody pajamas.

When I returned, I climbed back into the bed and curled up into his protective form. He wrapped his arms around my waste and I scooted closer to his warm body.

"Sorry." I murmured.

"Your apology is not necessary." Pein replied. "However, I wish to know what exactly caused you to react in the manner seen." He stated thoughtfully.

"…"

"I dreamt about the torture..." I said shakily.

"It's not the first time." Pein stated, trying to figure out why it was different this time.

"Before the dreaming only consisted of the whippings, this dream contained the nail ripping and bone crunching torture." I said threatening to break down again.

"How can we resolve this problem?" Pein asked.

"I don't know." I murmured quietly.

"Your actions cease when I sleep with you." Pein stated.

I blushed darkly and Pein looked at my frazzled appearance.

"Is it necessary for me to continue sleeping with you, like this?" Pein asked unemotionally.

"I don't know." I repeated.

He ran his fingers up and down my back in a soothing manner and I finally managed to fall asleep. Pein watched my sleeping form for a while, thinking about the previous conversation.

He supposed that it didn't really matter to him, whether or not she slept with him. The actions simply brought him closer to her, although he was unaware if that was a good or bad thing. However, that didn't particularly matter as long as the torment she faced ceased.

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The next few weeks went by uneventfully and my nightmares were subsiding. My wounds were healing up fine, although I was still sore and stiff. Pein moved back to his bedroom and I hung out with the members that had once been deceased. It wasn't until the third week that things started to get out of hand.

Madara infiltrated our base. He had masked his chakra and I hadn't noticed his approach until it was too late.

His red eyes gleamed in the darkness, as he watched my sleeping form. Smirking darkly he lifted me up and I opened my eyes. I thought it was Pein at first, but quickly realized that this male was not Leader. Before I even had a chance to attack, I was put under by his sharingan and passed out.

Pein stood at the door with his arms crossed. His facial expression was neutral as he watched Madara. Although, on the inside all the rinnegan user wanted to do was kill Madara. He noticed the sharingan wielder had removed his mask, but that was of little importance at the moment.

"You would willingly let me take her?" Madara asked without turning around.

"Your insolence is not tolerated Madara." Pein replied evenly

"Yet, you do not even try to stop me." Madara stated again, turning around to face Pein.

Pein frowned at this and then Madara was thrust forward. The sharingan user was only surprised for a second though, before he used his teleportation jutsu to leave the base with his prize.

Pein growled in anger and turned on his heal intending to find the insolent bastard.

Madara brought me into his base which was located not to far out of the hidden sound and set me down on a couch. He released his jutsu and I opened my eyes. Upon seeing his eyes, I tried to move away. He grabbed my arms though and pinned me down. My eyes widened in alarm and I used my foot to try and kick him in the groin. He easily deflected and tsked.

"Feisty, aren't we love?" Madara asked.

"Love?" I scoffed in irritation.

"Of coarse dear, it has come to my attention that the Uchiha have no heirs and as much as I'd like to, I can't live forever." Madara said inching closer to my face.

I spat in his face and he frowned in unhappiness.

"Unwise." He said as he liked the saliva off his lip.

I growled and my eyes flashed to a light green shade. A dragon appeared and drew a claw across his body, sweeping him away from my form. But Madara was quick and easily silenced the poor creature. I snarled at him, as I sat up.

"Your bloodline can go to hell, the only one worthy enough to have claimed it was Itachi." I stated bluntly and in the most insulting manner possible.

Madara growled in displeasure and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. I glared at him and he frowned.

"I didn't want to harm you, however you force my hand. I will get what I want." He stated, emphasizing the 'I will,' as he slapped me across my face. He didn't draw blood, but it was definitely an act meant to intimidate me.

He threw me back and I hit the wall with a sickening crunch. My head flopped forward and I gasped, the wind having been knocked out of me. He grabbed my wrists and strung them up by the chains on his wall. I looked up at him in a haze, but his look was indifferent.

He tied my legs together and then leaned in, to close for my own comfort. The sad thing was, this man would be attractive, if he wasn't so god dam evil.

"If you behave, I'll treat you nicely." He stated, as his eyes glittered pervertedly.

I spat on him again and he slapped me. He grabbed my chin and dragged his tongue up the side of my neck. I made a sound of disgust and he frowned again, obviously surprised that I would still refuse him. (**Madara has serious ego issues in my story XP**) His lips traveled dangerously close to my own and I flinched. He laughed a cold hearted laugh, as he grinned at me sadistically.

"Your pure, and ripe for the picking." He growled.

My eyes widened and I began to thrash in the chains.

He took a step back and walked toward a closet, I hadn't taken the time to notice before. He pulled out a whip with a devious smirk plastered on his face.

My eyes turned to slits and I looked at him in unease. He brought the whip up, intending to hit me. My eye sight became blurry and I began to lose consciousness. Then everything went black for a moment.

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White chakra unfolded around my body and my eyes changed to a sickly white color. Madara looked at me in surprise. 'Part of her bloodline limit'? he thought, questioningly. No. this was different.

The chakra wouldn't allow Madara to get close to me, but he was curious as to what was happening, so he decided to watch.

I clenched my hand into a fist, as my nails began to grow longer. I growled out and Madara saw the sharp row of teeth now lining my mouth.

"Interesting." He stated.

I pulled loose of the restraints and pounced at him, in an animal like manner. He dodged and the chakra began to envelope my body more. Ears began forming on the top of my head, as well as a long white tail.

"Tailed beast?" He murmured.

Moments later and I was no longer recognizable as a human, I had completely morphed into a cat like beast. My body had also grown to a humongous status, as I crouched on the floor. Madara took a step forward and I stood up. My size was too large though and I crashed through the ceiling. I shook my head in agitation and jumped through the hole I had created. My memory was still intact, I knew that Madara was the bad guy, but it was weird, I had the instincts of a cat now and my first instinct was to flee.

Madara teleported to me and tried using his sharingan on me, to no avail, it had no affect. I kept running, until I hit a high wall. I jumped over it and straight into the hidden leaf. Villagers ran in every which direction, trying to get away from the beast. Kakashi stood on a building watching me in horror. I looked at him, with panic in my eyes and he noticed.

Everyone's panic stricken actions were making my instincts run wild. I started backing up and away from the village. That is until Madara appeared, forcing me to return to the village, were my instincts told me not to go.

"Mehio?" Kakashi stated

I roared out a scream, as Madara slashed at my legs. I kicked at him but he dodged and I toppled over one of the newly constructed buildings.

Any threatened animal, trapped in a corner with no escape will lash out, it is an inalienable law of nature. That is exactly how my instincts told me to act. I growled at Madara and immediately began attacking him. However, he was too quick and I landed to hits.

This attack and miss tactic continued until the Akatsuki arrived, a few minutes later.

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Pein looked up at me in surprise, before knocking Madara out of the way. Kakashi saw the interaction and realized that the two ninja were not working together. This meant that the provocation of Mehio activating her jutsu was not the Akatsuki's doing.

I looked at Pein, but my memory was bleary and I couldn't quiet place who he was. I continued my rampage and then I heard it.

"Mehio." Pein stated in full authority.

I shifted my body and peered at him, like a cat does a mouse.

"I did not permit this, release the jutsu." Pein stated again.

Madara watched the scene in amusement. He scoffed at the idea of the man being able to change the beast before him back to normal, by speaking a few words. But his eyes widened in surprise as my body began to shake.

I shook for a moment and then all of the white chakra cleared. I fell, since the beast had been so high up. Pein caught me easily and I blinked at him before passing out, my chakra being completely depleted.

Pein took off his cloak and put it on my now naked form, since my clothes were shredded off during the transformation.

My hair was longer now but otherwise I looked basically the same as before. Kakashi walked up timidly and Pein focused his eyes on the man.

"Hold her." He stated in complete authority.

Kakashi nodded and Pein turned his attention to the once carefree member that had double crossed him.

Madara frowned and glared in utter hatred, at the orange haired man. Somehow Pein was always able to out best him, in his attempts at Mehio's loyalty or even love. How could the blond haired girl be so fond of him? Pein flashed in front of Madara and an instant later, both men were gone.

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	13. He Bit Me

One vote -_-. That's not very deciding. So, I'm just going to continue writing, the way I want the story to be.

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters ***except for my OC Mehio.*)

I woke up to quiet murmuring. It took me a moment to focus my gaze, but when I did, I noticed who was speaking.

It was Deidara and Sasori; I blinked and tried to sit up. Deidara turned his attention to me and Sasori stood up and maneuvered over.

"Where's Pein?" I questioned

"We don't know." Sasori stated.

"Madara?" I asked in distaste.

"We don't know that either, yea." Deidara replied

"Where are we?" I asked

"Just outside the hidden leaf." Sasori answered.

Kisame and Zetsu walked in and stood at the doorway. Kakashi rounded the corner after them, looking very uncomfortable.

"Why are you here?" I asked Kakashi.

"I'm the spokesperson for Konoha. I am confirming that the Akatsuki were not behind the attack on the village." Kakashi answered.

"Attack?" I questioned.

"Yes… don't you remember?" Sasori asked, eyeing me critically.

"I just remember that Madara wanted me to be his mistress or something…Then refusing and then… he was going to… torture me and I don't remember after that. Except for at some point, I remember seeing Pein." I said the last part as an after thought.

"You seem to be missing **the important stuff."** Zetsu stated

"Important stuff…" I asked hoping for someone to finish my sentence.

"You used that jutsu." Kakashi told me vaguely.

My eyes widened slightly, as it donned on me that I had used the Shishi no kokuin (Mark of the beast).

The members of the Akatsuki that were sitting around me, had no idea what Kakashi was talking about and looked at me expectantly. I looked back at them guiltily, and Kakashi realized that the members had not known of my jutsu.

"You didn't tell them?" he asked, raising an eye brow.

"Don't give me that Kakashi. I told the one who hired me, I was then sworn to secrecy, and I was only following orders." I said honestly.

"Besides, since the cats out of the bag (no pun intended) I might as well inform all of you." I said looking at the Akatsuki.

I glared hard at Kakashi and he seemed to get the message, as he then turned and left the room.

"Well…" Sasori asked in agitation.

"It's a jutsu that I inherited from some relative of mine. Who happened to live thousands of years ago. The jutsu reacts to the emotion of its user; I suppose the prospect of being tortured once again, activated mine… Pein didn't want anyone to know, because I was a back up weapon; he also didn't want Madara to get his hands on me." I told them sincerely.

"I see…" Sasori stated, lost in thought.

"Well, obviously it didn't matter since Madara still captured you… although, for a completely different reason." Kisame stated, laughing.

"I suppose…" I said trailing off. "Why are we still here? I want to go home…" I asked the men.

"We are working with Konoha at the moment, in order to clear up you little 'stunt' and hopefully take care of Madara, as well as find leader." Sasori answered.

I nodded my head and sat up, my hair fell down into my eyes and I looked up at it in surprise. Deidara laughed at me and I glared.

"Nice bed head." He teased, saying the same words that I had used on him.

I sat up and realized my state of undress immediately. Most of the members were looking away or at least pretending to. I pulled the blanket up to cover myself and then Konan walked in.

"Your up." She said looking relieved.

I nodded and she shooed out the men, so I could get changed. Konan handed me an article of clothing that was similar to hers, I took it with gratitude and put on the simple dress. I hadn't been wearing much of anything earlier, besides an Akatsuki cloak, so it was nice to be clothed.

I got up, and stretched my aching muscles. The transformation had made me sore. I picked up the cloak and looked at the large thing, it was definitely not mine. Konan eyed the cloak and then answered my unspoken question.

"That's Pein's." she stated.

I looked at the cloak for a moment and then slipped it on. It smelled like him, rainy, with a hint of paperwork. I tried not to look weird inhaling his scent, but I probably did. Konan didn't notice though, or at least that's what it seemed like.

I sat up and headed out, after giving my thanks to Konan. The men were in the hall talking to Kakashi. I looked at them and then Kakashi spoke.

"I received a report that Madara's body was found by Naruto, however Pein is nowhere to be found."

"I see." I said "Can we leave now?" I asked no one specifically.

"Our truce is over; you have five minutes to escape, before we come after you." Kakashi stated.

I nodded and turned to the rest of the Akatsuki, Sasori took the lead as we escaped the building. Once outside, Deidara created a large bird and we headed home. Deidara was on the front of the bird with Sasori behind him. Konan was behind him and I, behind her. Zetsu sat behind me with Kisame, while Kakuzu was at the caboose.

The whole way, Sasori nagged Deidara about being a bad pilot and incapable partner. Kisame and Kakuzu bet against each other, never ceasing to stop there conversation. Konan snapped at them occasionally, stating she had a headache, while Zetsu and I stayed relatively quiet. Although, we did chuckle occasionally, or in my case, try to stop the bickering men's arguments.

When we got to base, I quickly disengaged myself and headed to my room. I moved towards the bathroom to clean up. Madara had not done much to me, besides creep me out, but I still felt dirty and wanted to clean him off of my skin. As I was getting ready, I caught a glance at my appearance and gasped. My hair was about twice its length at least, but still blonde and definitely in need of washing. I got into the shower and cleaned off.

When I was finished I decided that I needed to do something with my hair. I brushed through it quickly and immediately assessed that I needed to at least cut my bangs. I grabbed a kunai and cut my long bangs, so that they hung to the side and just under my eyebrows. Then I cut my hair until it was slightly more manageable.

I always had liked long hair, so I left it about five inches past my shoulders, instead of down to my butt. Sighing in content, I stretched and headed off to bed.

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My morning was chaotic, Konan was yelling about something at the doorway. I cracked an eye and tried to figure out what she was going off about, but to no avail. I was kind of surprised though, usually Konan was calm and composed, but today she was excited… no, maybe angry? Human emotions are impossible, I can't figure them out.

"Mehio! Hurry up!" she told me impatiently.

"Why?" I asked waving my arms in confusion.

She sighed and seemed to calm down a little.

"I need help with paperwork and the guys are fighting again and I can't deal with this!" She said, completely fed up with the whole situation.

"Hold on" I said, stretching and pulling myself out of my warm bed.

I quickly changed into the first thing I found and then put my boots on tiredly. I walked into the bathroom and composed myself, fixing my hair and applying light make-up. I walked back out and started heading towards Konan when I spotted Pein's cloak. I grabbed it as an afterthought, and headed out with Konan.

Konan walked into Pein's office and pointed out the obviously large stack of paperwork. I could hear crashing downstairs as well, which I assumed was the boys. Konan ran a flustered hand through her hair and turned to me, giving me a look that said, 'do something'.

I walked out of the office and down the stairs, to see what the Neanderthals were doing. I walked into a wrestling match between Kisame and Deidara. I gaped at the two men on the kitchen table.

"What… is going on?" I asked, in bewilderment.

"He started it." Both men stated at the same time.

"…"

"Alright, yea, Kisame thinks that since he's old and crunchy, he's fit to be the new leader. But I think that Sasori should be the new leader, yea." Deidara stated.

"Psh, that doll doesn't know the first thing about leading. He's so impatient and diehard, besides he got killed by that pink chick." Kisame countered.

"Danna is not-" Deidara started.

"Shut up." I interrupted.

"…"

"Why are you arguing over who will be the new leader?" I asked, "Pein hasn't been pronounced dead yet…" I continued.

"She's right." Zetsu said, walking into the room.

"True, and I need to make more money, so we need to be accepting missions." Kakuzu said from the couch.

"Uh huh…" I responded to Kakuzu.

Deidara got up off the table along with Kisame and they retreated, separate ways.

I blinked as the two walked off. How is it that guys can so easily forgive each other, especially after beating each other up?

"Zetsu, do you want to help me with paperwork?" I questioned.

"**No, **I suppose." Zetsu answered, his two personalities differing.

"Um?" I responded.

"**Fine.**" came Zetsu's reply.

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We headed up stairs and to Pein's office. Konan was still stressing, but had gotten some of the paperwork done. She looked up at us and then started to stand up.

"Want a break?" I inquired

"Thank you." She responded before leaving.

I sighed and then sat down to work on the papers. Zetsu did the same and we read documents. Some of the proposals were ridiculous and we refused them. But, I did sign some of them, especially high paying missions. Zetsu and I managed to finish the paperwork in an hour.

"Thank god!" I stated, relieved to be finished.

"Let's hand out the missions." Zetsu stated as he picked up some of the papers.

I helped him pass out the assignments to the members, leaving a few for Zetsu and I as well.

My stomach growled and I blinked. I hadn't eaten anything all day, since I had to handle the Akatsuki's 'mini crisis'.

"Are you hungry?" I asked Zetsu

"**Why, are you offering?**Yes." Zetsu responded, referring to his consumption of dead bodies.

"Lets go make something." I said, slightly flustered by his response.

We headed into the kitchen and I made sandwiches for the two of us. After we ate, I was at a loss for words. So, I decided to make small talk.

" I think I'm going to move back into my room." I commented.

"**Good."** Zetsu replied.

" Your very talkative today." I said, referring to Zetsu's dark half.

"We haven't 'eaten' since, **You were captured." **Zetsu responded.

"As soon as the first mission is completed, you have first picks." I chuckled.

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Later that day, I returned to my room on Pein's side and retrieved my stuff. I then headed down stairs to my old room. Konan had been happy to move back into her old room. After putting my things away, I went next door to see what Zetsu was doing.

"Can I come in?" I asked

"Sure." Came the plant mans reply.

I walked into his room and found him tending to his plants. He was watering them. I wandered over and he handed me a watering can as well. I helped him water his flowers and then plopped down on his bed.

Zetsu blinked at me from were he was standing. He had been acting strangely all day, but I wasn't really afraid of him. He walked over and sat next to me.

"We can do one of those missions tomorrow, if you want." I told him

He nodded in acknowledgement and then his black side smiled. I gave him a questioning look and he responded.

"**I'm hungry, now." **His dark side told me before pinning me to the bed.

"Zetsu?" I questioned.

He leaned into me and bit my neck. I squirmed under him and then growled when he bit me. The wound was pretty deep, but not life threatening.

I pushed him off and then backed away from the man. His expression changed to one of disgust. He blinked at his hand, which was now covered in my blood.

"We're sorry…" Zetsu told me, reaching a hand out as though to comfort me.

I backed away from him and left the room. I understood that he was apologizing to me, and the actions that occurred, had been from hunger. However, the shock from the injury and his actions made me uneasy.

Zetsu didn't follow me, he was ashamed of his actions and didn't blame me for leaving. Regret ate at his features, as he moved to wash the gore off of his face.

I healed the wound and then stayed in my room for the rest of the night. I wasn't mad at Zetsu for what he had done. Instinct had taken over, and he had acted. I would still go on the mission with him tomorrow and hopefully resolve the issue.

I ate something from the fridge in my room and then retreated to my bed, to sleep off the weird day.

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	14. Spin the Bottle

Hey, everybody :3 Sorry about not updating, I just got back from a play and I've been really distracted lately. I'm going to be really busy for basically the rest of the summer, but I will attempt to update whenever possible. Thanks for reading my story so far. Now to the stuff people actually care about XP.

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters, *** However I do own my OC, Mehio*)

"Hey… wake up…" I heard a deep voice grumble.

I cracked an eye at the person speaking. Kakuzu was peering down at me and I immediately sat up, startled.

"Konan asked that I wake you." Kakuzu told me and then continued under his breath, "Or else she will reduce my pay."

"Thanks" I mumbled as I got out of bed.

Kakuzu turned and walked out of my room. He's not a very sociable man, unless money is involved.

I dragged myself into the bathroom and got ready. As I looked in the mirror, I saw the scrape on my neck and sighed. I needed to talk to Zetsu.

When I was decent, I left my room and headed to the next one over. I stared at Zetsu's door. Usually, I would have no problem with knocking on his door and asking him to get ready for a mission. But, I didn't know how to approach him, let alone talk to him, after what had happened the night before.

I knocked on his door quietly and then murmured a, "Can I come in? Its Mehio."

There was no response from the other side and I knocked again. Still, nothing was uttered in welcome or the other way around. 'It could just be that he was still asleep or maybe, he was just ignoring me,' I thought to myself.

I pushed open Zetsu's door and peered around carefully, making sure he wasn't indecent. But, he wasn't in the front part of the room. I maneuvered through the dangerous plants and came to his bed. He was still asleep, or so I thought. I walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Zetsu?" I asked

He opened his eyes and blinked at me. His body had locked up and he was keeping as much distance from me, as possible. I backed away from him, I had obviously infringed on his personal space.

"Sorry," I murmured.

Zetsu sat up and got out of bed.

"So… Are you ready for the mission?" I asked awkwardly.

"Hn." Zetsu responded.

I blinked and then allowed him to walk around me to the bathroom. He was being very cautious, as though he was afraid of me. However, I assumed he just didn't want to attack me, like he had before. I watched him head off to the bathroom and I sighed.

"Zetsu?" I questioned.

"**Yes?" **Came his quick reply.

"It's ok. You didn't hurt me… I was just startled. I don't blame you." I told him honestly, adding the end quietly.

"…"

Zetsu walked out, soon after with a look of confusion plastered on his colorful features. How could she not blame him? He had straight out attacked her…

"**Why?"** He asked.

"It wasn't on purpose. You were hungry; it's a natural inclination for the body to try to nourish itself." I told him

Zetsu just nodded, but he didn't look very certain. He hesitantly grabbed my arm, to take us to the assigned location. I didn't flinch and this seemed to reassure him a little, as he tightened his grip noticeably.

We arrived in a desert and I recoiled from the blaze of heat that assaulted my face. The sun was burning down on us, and without the cover of the trees, we were at it's mercy. I shielded my eyes and groaned, "it's hot." Zetsu chuckled from were he stood and I smiled at him, glad that the tension was receding.

We walked toward our destination, a small tent like home with the two targets inside. This mission would be slightly more dangerous, than the other missions we had previously completed. For one, these targets were A- ranked ninja and two, they have the upper hand in this god forsaken wasteland. Both individuals had sand techniques, that give them a superior advantage, but then again, we had the benefit of surprise.

Zetsu nodded at me and then sunk into the ground, to scout the enemies camp. I waited patiently, but on edge, these ninja were not simpletons like some that we had faced. The ninja could spot Zetsu easily, if he wasn't cautious.

There was a clang of weaponry and I quickly moved into action. Zetsu was capable of defending himself, but he was better at scouting. If they managed to block off his exists, (very difficult to do) he would have a hard time fighting off both individuals.

Summoning my bow and arrow, I ran into the building. Lushirio hadn't been responding to any of my summons for him, so I didn't bother calling him now. I just hoped that he was still alive and well.

I ripped the curtain, functioning as a door and walked into the tent. Zetsu was in the ground, fighting off the two ninja with his kunai. One of the targets turned and ran at me. He was quick and I was forced to retreat, so that I had more open space to fight in. I summoned a dragon and gripped onto its scales, flying up into the air, in order to grant myself some distance.

The man smirked at me, assuming that I was a weak opponent. I grinned back at him and unsheathed my bow. The man blinked at the weapon curiously, it wasn't everyday that one saw a ninja wielding a bow.

I fired off twenty arrows at him in quick succession. The man dodged them easily and I growled. This wasn't a practice fight, so the poison tipping my arrows would kill in minutes, if it came into contact with his skin. The man then proceeded to form a jutsu. But, he underestimated me, by assuming that he would have time to incite the hand signals, he had left an opening for me. I jumped off the dragon and withdrew my sword, landing a sharp blow to the targets shoulder.

"Shit" The man growled, holding his arm in surprise.

"Don't underestimate me." I told him smugly.

My target manipulated his terrain in that moment and I barely dodged the wall of sand, bursting from beneath my feet. I fired off more arrows in his direction and then jumped over the wall to slash at him again. He dodged and sliced a kunai up my arm. I summoned a rhino, which rammed into him. The man blinked in surprise and the blood gushed from the wound on his side. I used this chance to hit him with one of my arrows. He dodged almost all of them, except for one, which hit him in his arm. He pulled out the offending weapon and dropped it on the ground.

"Ha! Did you think you could kill me like that?" The man asked hysterically.

He didn't even allow for me to respond, as he rushed me. I summoned a dragon to guard myself from his attack, but I wasn't quick enough.

"Dam." I stated

His weapon smashed into my chest and ripped at my flesh. I gasped and coughed up blood. I pushed his hand and the weapon away from myself before collapsing. The dragon breathed fire at the man. He dodged and moved back and then froze. The drug in his system knocked the breath out of him, as he collapsed in a seizure. It was just a matter of time, before the man died now. Being in the middle of nowhere, meant that he would have no access to medical equipment. Not that he would be able to find a cure in time to save himself, anyway.

I rolled onto my back and healed the wound on my chest. I sat up carefully and used the dragon as a support beam. I leaned against the beast and walked back to the camp. Zetsu had been fighting the other target, and had hopefully won. I walked into the tent only to find a half eaten man on the ground. Zetsu had killed him, it appeared.

Zetsu blinked up at me from his meal and I flopped onto the floor. He walked over to my crumbled form and lifted me up. I grumbled and swatted at him.

"I'm okay; I'm just hot and sore." I mumbled

Zetsu smirked at me and I dropped my head on the floor again. He crouched down and finished his meal. I closed my eyes and tried to tune out the sounds. When he was finished, he grabbed my arm and we returned to the base.

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When we emerged into the building, I started over to the living room area. Zetsu told me he would be down once he cleaned up. I walked into the room and found Deidara and Sasori sitting on the couch. Deidara looked up from his sculpting, to see who had returned. I waved at him and he busted up laughing, irritating the puppet master next to him. Sasori smacked Deidara over the head.

"Quite your incessant moving and laughing." Sasori grumbled.

"But Danna, look at her, yeah!" Deidara said laughing.

"What?" I yelled at him.

Sasori looked up at me for the first time since I had arrived and blinked. A smirk graced his features and he indulged me with a response that I had been searching for.

"Have you been in the sun recently?" Sasori asked.

"What?" I asked irritated.

"Your sun burnt!" Deidara said bursting out into laughter again.

I walked over to the blond and kicked him in the face. He landed on the floor with a thud and pouted at me.

I turned on my heel and walked out of the room to tend to my burnt skin. Dam, 'I made a fool of myself,' I thought bitterly. I walked up the stairs and past my bedroom to Konan's room.

"Konan?" I questioned at her door.

"Mehio? Your back already, what do you-" Konan started.

A smile appeared on her face and I glared at her. She grabbed my arm and brought me into her room. She walked down her hallway and opened a cupboard. She handed me a jar of green goop. I took the jar and thanked her quickly before heading out.

I hurried down the stairs and past Zetsu's room, to mine. I applied the after sun and then grumbled on my bed. Zetsu knocked on my door shortly after and I groaned.

"What?" I asked

"We want to know if you're **okay**?" He asked.

"You could have told me I was sun burnt!" I pouted.

Zetsu walked in and I stopped with my childish attitude. He looked me over and I turned my head to look at him.

"It's not that **bad."** Zetsu told me.

"Yeah, I know." I sighed, "But it's enough for others to notice." I finished.

"**Deidara?" **Zetsu guessed

"Yea." I replied.

Zetsu turned around and I got up and followed him, into his room. He walked over to an orange plant, with white flowers. I blinked at it and peered at Zetsu curiously. He touched the top of the plant and it opened up. There was a orange slime in the center of it.

"**Let's play a trick.**" Zetsu's black side said with a smirk.

I gave him a questioning look and Zetsu collected some of the slippery stuff.

"What are we going to do with that?" I asked curiously

"If we put it on Deidara's face,** it'll turn orange.**" Zetsu smirked.

At night Zetsu and I snuck into Deidara's room. I put the goop onto his face and then we left.

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In the morning I went downstairs for breakfast and found Kisame cooking again. I sat at the table; this was the first time I had eaten with the Akatsuki for weeks, since Madara had forbidden me from doing so. The rest of the remaining Akatsuki began to fill into the table. Finally Deidara came down the stairs. He sat down next to me and yawned.

"Ha ha ha " Kisame roared.

"What, yeah?" Deidara asked.

I chuckled from were I sat as well and the blond looked at me.

"Since when did you become an orange?" Kisame laughed.

Deidara got up and looked in the closest mirror to him. He saw the orange on his face and his eyes flashed to mine.

"Mehio!" Deidara yelled.

I laughed at him and he jumped at me. I ducked and he flew over me, into Sasori's lap. The puppet master flung the blonde on the floor with a smash and Deidara pouted.

I threw a cup of water at the blonde, who looked at me in outrage. Kisame was still laughing.

"What the hell was that for, yeah?" Deidara yelled.

"I got the orange off of your face." I told him

Deidara stood up and looked in the mirror. The color was dripping off of his face and he sighed in defeat. He sat down next to me again and we finished breakfast.

For the rest of the day, I managed paperwork for Konan. There was a small stack of assignments that I had accepted, but the rest were being declined. I passed out the missions to the members and then retreated to my room.

I sat on my floor and tried to summon my familiar. Lushirio did not come and I sat up. I lay down in my bad and eventually fell asleep. The fact that Lushirio was missing troubled me. I would have to look for him tomorrow. Pein was missing too and I wondered if either of them were still alive.

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The next day, I woke up on my own. It was early, around five. I was covered in sweat and on edge. The nightmare had been so real. I hadn't had a nightmare for a while, but it seemed they were back. Usually my dreams consisted of the torture inflicted on myself, but this time it was on Pein. Madara had tortured him endlessly, much more unforgiving than Ibiki had been. Instead of around five ours a day, Madara had tortured Pein around ten. I shivered from the memory. It was just a dream, but it disturbed me.

I got up, realizing that I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep anyway. I showered and got dressed. Then I headed out. Halfway to my door I noticed the cloak lying on my dresser. I picked it up, it was Pein's, I had forgotten about it. I slipped it on and then continued to my door. I walked down the hall and up the stairs. I passed Pein's office and sat on the roof. He had liked it up here, I understood why. It was quiet and peaceful, none of the members to bother you.

I stayed on the roof until I heard shuffling from inside the building. I got up and headed down the stairs, to see who was up. All of the Akatsuki were downstairs, Kisame was talking about a mission he and Itachi had completed. I walked in and decided to get something for breakfast. I ate and then sat down next to Deidara and Sasori, to listen to the story.

For a large scary looking guy, Kisame was one of the most social and interesting characters in the Akatsuki.

Kisame was talking about how he and Itachi had infiltrated Konoha, just to beat up Itachi's little brother. The way he phrased the story was quite amusing. I couldn't help but laugh. When he finished the story, I sat up and realized that I had been leaning on Deidara. He didn't seem to mind and I didn't think of the bomber as anything more than a friend, but I was still a little embarrassed.

Kakuzu walked in from the kitchen and started barking at the large blue man.

"Kisame, we need to leave for the mission. I want my bounty!" Kakuzu ranted.

"Shut up, you old miser, the target isn't going to disappear." Kisame countered, as he sat up.

The only time the stitched man ever got riled up and angry, was when it came to his money. The only reason he had even joined Akatsuki, was for the money, I mused. Kisame sat up and indulged the money crazed man, by heading to the door for the mission. Kakuzu followed after him and I was left with Deidara, Sasori, and Zetsu. Konan had returned to her room, halfway through Kisame's story.

"Let's play a game, yeah." Deidara stated.

"What are we playing?" I responded.

"Spin the bottle, yeah." Deidara chuckled.

"Spin the bottle?" I questioned.

"It's easy to play, I'll show you, yeah." Deidara told me.

He walked over to the table and I followed. I beckoned to Zetsu and he reluctantly walked over as well. Sasori seemed mildly interested and walked over off his own accord. Deidara grabbed a bottle of sake and set it face down on the table.

"So how do we play?" I asked

"Someone spins the bottle, yeah, and whoever it lands on has to choose either a truth or a dare, given by the spinner. If you don't want to do what they asked, yeah, you can pass, but you have to drink a cup of sake." Deidara told me, grinning.

"Alright, I get the gist of the game, let's play." I responded.

Deidara spun the bottle and it landed on Sasori. Sasori glared at Deidara, as if to say, 'make me do or say anything stupid, and I'll kill you.'

"Truth or dare?" Deidara asked.

"Dare." The puppet master responded easily.

"I dare you to… say that my art is better than yours." Deidara stated smugly.

Sasori blinked at Deidara and then swiped the sake bottle off the table, in a split second. He took a swig of the sake and then returned it to the center of the table, without a word. Deidara's smug look disappeared and I chuckled. Sasori spun the bottle and it landed on me.

"Truth or dare?" The puppeteer asked impatiently.

"Truth." I stated

"Have you ever had sex?" The puppet master asked in a bored manner.

Deidara gave Sasori a surprised look and Zetsu looked at me curiously. I squirmed under their gazes; of course I would get an awkward request.

"No." I murmured quickly.

I reached out and grabbed the bottle. I spun it and it landed on Zetsu. I grinned at him and he looked at me questioningly.

"Truth or dare?" I asked

"Dare." He responded.

"Umm… I dare you to… flirt with the next person who walks in." I giggled.

Since no one walked in, Zetsu took the bottle and spun it. He would have to do the dare, later when the person walked in. The bottle landed on Deidara.

"Truth or** dare?**" Zetsu asked.

"Dare." Deidara responded.

In that moment Kisame walked in saying, "I forgot my sword." Zetsu immediately reached out his hand and chugged the sake. Kisame left the room afterwards.

"I dare you to **kiss the closest person to you.**" Zetsu stated.

Deidara blinked across the table at me and then turned to the red head next to him. Sasori glared and Deidara cursed. Deidara kissed the artist on the cheek and then grumbled at Zetsu. Sasori smacked the blonde and Deidara pouted.

Deidara took the bottle and spun, it landed on me again. He asked me 'truth or dare' and I responded with 'dare'. He grinned at me and I had a feeling I would regret playing this game.

"I dare you to strip and dance on the table." Deidara laughed.

I reached for the sake bottle and took a swig. The stuff was nasty; of course, I wasn't used to alcohol.

The game continued for another ten minutes before I was completely drunk. Because the requests had gotten increasingly more personal, I had to pass many of them. It didn't help that with my lack of alcohol tolerance, I was hammered.

I sat up and wobbled, Sasori reached out a hand to steady me. I hiccupped and then laughed.

"The games over, she's to drunk to play anymore." Sasori stated.

"It'zzzz hotttt." I slurred, reaching for the bottom of my shirt.

Zetsu got up and grabbed my hand. I complained and Zetsu hauled me out of the room and up the stairs. He brought me into my room and set me down on my bed.

"Go to sleep." Zetsu advised.

I complained but didn't move from my spot. Zetsu walked out of the room and left me to my drunkenness. I stripped off my shirt and my skirt before attempting to sleep. But, I was having heat flashes and it was making me restless. I finally fell asleep after an hour.

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I woke up with a killer headache. I sat up and groaned. I applied some healing chakra to my head and sat up. I stunk really bad and I tried to remember what I had done the night before. I looked down at my attire and found that I hadn't changed for bed; I had simply taken off my clothing.

"What did I do last night?" I sighed.

There was a knock on my door and I looked up. I grabbed a blanket and covered myself up. Zetsu opened the door and looked at my frazzled appearance.

"How is your **Hangover?**" Zetsu asked.

"What the heck did I do last night; all I remember is spin the bottle…" I put the pieces together and slapped myself mentally.

"**You got wasted**, so I brought you back to your room." Zetsu stated.

"Good, I was worried that I might have done something stupid." I murmured.

"…"

"Can you leave for a minute? I need to get dressed." I asked the plant man.

Once I was dressed I walked out of my room and met up with Zetsu. We walked downstairs and found Kisame, Sasori, Kakuzu, and Deidara. I got a bowl of cereal and chuckled when I found the captain crunch. No one would expect a group of S-class criminals to have that kind of cereal.

We ate and Deidara talked about the night before. I looked away in embarrassment, when Deidara explained how drunk I had gotten. Kisame laughed and said that he wished that he would have been there.

While everyone was still talking and joking I noticed three chakra signatures heading toward the base. Two of the three signatures were being masked and I couldn't make out whose they were. The third however was very distinct and I sat up. The rest of the Akatsuki looked over at me.

"Lushirio." I stated, leaving the kitchen and heading for the door.

I rounded the corner and was completely surprised by the two figures that entered the door way.

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	15. The Chance Encounter

Yay, another chapter before I stop writing again. :3 I'm going to an anime expo in a couple of days so yeaaaa. I decided that I had to make sure I updated, even though I'm half asleep. I have had serious writers block and changed this chapter like 40 times. So if it sucks I'm sorry, that includes spelling, but I finally incorporated Zetsu X Mehio into the story. Hopefully you like it, it's near the end XP (Wooo for Zetsu)

**(I do not own Naruto or the characters, *** just my OC Mehio*)

I stood in the doorway, blinking at the two men entering the building. Zetsu came up behind me, along with the rest of the remaining Akatsuki, to intercept the intruders. The first one to enter had dark red hair with a slight build. The man behind him had orange hair, but I couldn't see his face, so I didn't get my hopes up just yet.

"Nagato…" Zetsu stated from behind me.

The red haired man looked up to see who had called his name. Then Lushirio bulldozed his way through and launched himself at me. I used my chakra to hold the big cat and tried to peer around Nagato.

The stranger noticed my gaze and moved aside, so I could see the man. Pein's eyes locked onto mine and I couldn't help but smile at him. I scratched Lushirio behind his ears and then focused my attention on the stranger, whom the others seemed to know.

"Hello, it doesn't appear that we have met yet." Nagato stated.

"No, we haven't, I'm Mehio." I told him, holding out my hand in greeting.

"…Nagato." Konan said from the stairway. I hadn't seen her come down, since I was busy greeting the newcomer.

Nagato shook my hand and then embraced Konan. The rest of the Akatsuki were crowding in, to welcome each other. Pein stood off to the side, content with staying away from the hugs. Although, he did receive a few nods from the members.

I caught Zetsu's attention and he walked over to see what I wanted.

"Who is he?" I murmured.

Kisame shoved through me and bear hugged Nagato. The red head pushed the man away and then said, "nice to see you too, Kisame." It was pretty chaotic in the hallway and I had to step back, to keep out of everyone's way.

"Nagato is a member of Akatsuki; **he left on a long mission.**" Zetsu told me.

"Mission?" I asked.

"He was in charge of monitoring **Madara.**" Zetsu responded.

"Oh, I see." I stated lost in thought.

Zetsu excused himself and headed away from the crowd, along with Sasori, who didn't seem to care that anyone had returned.

The crowd started to settle down and I wanted to greet Pein, but he probably wouldn't welcome the attention. Nagato left with Konan up the stairs and Pein began speaking.

"Madara is dead, but we could not retrieve the bijuu from him. It appears that Konoha's Jinchuriki destroyed the demonic statue of the outer path. (Yes, that's what that big statue that Pein summons to seal bijuu, is called.) Our goals will be postponed for the present moment. The bijuu will not be reincarnated for hundreds of years. It is acceptable for those who wish to, to leave, but it is not mandatory." Pein stated.

"…"

Pein walked through the crowd that was still hovering around the door and walked up the stairs. The men murmured to each other around me and I pushed through them, to follow after Pein.

"Pein!" I called, as I ran up the stairs after him.

He did not stop to wait for me. He continued up the stairs and to his office. I followed after him and intercepted him at his door. I grabbed his arm and he finally turned around to acknowledge me.

"…" I had wanted to catch up to him, but now I was at a loss for words.

His eyes moved to the cloak I was wearing. It was his and he recognized it.

"You're still wearing my cloak." Pein stated, although it was more like a question.

"Yes…" I said, slightly embarrassed about being caught wearing it.

Pein turned and walked over to his desk, noticing that the stack of papers he had expected to see there was not. He leaned on the corner of his desk and gave me his attention.

"I missed you." I murmured, as Lushirio padded into the room and laid down next to me.

Pein gestured for me to come over to him and I complied. He pulled me into his embrace and I hugged him back.

"Your presence was coveted as well." Pein stated under his breath.

"Where have you been all this time? How did you get rid of Madara?" I asked, keeping my face hidden in his chest. I did this so that he wouldn't see the blush feathering my cheeks, from his almost inaudible statement.

"Nagato and I defeated Madara, but I sustained damage during the fight and I needed to heal." Pein told me.

I pulled away from him and immediately started searching for wounds. He was just wearing under armor over his upper body, so it wasn't hard to search. He noticed my wandering eyes and chuckled. I blinked up at him and his arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his lap. I pushed against him in surprise; usually he concealed any desires or emotions. His lips brushed my forehead and I froze.

Konan and Nagato walked out of Madara's old room and I shoved against Pein harder. Nagato smirked in my direction and Konan looked at Pein curiously. I pushed a little harder and Pein loosened his grip and I fell backwards. He didn't let me fall on the floor though; he flung an arm around my waste. Now my red cheeks were exposed and I was mortified. Nagato and Konan continued out of the room, without a word.

Pein set me down on the floor and I glared at him for making me look ridiculous. There was a strange look in his eyes as he looked down at me. Perhaps it was longing, but the look was so fleeting, it was hard to tell.

"…What was that for?" I murmured, not looking at him directly.

"…"

"Pft, you're so weird." I muttered under my breath

Pein had returned to his usual emotionless self, leaving me in a confused state. Pein had an interest in Mehio, but he usually left his personal interests to himself. He was slightly irritated with himself, because he knew that now she would be hesitant to approach him.

I started to walk out of the room and Pein noticed that I headed away from the room next to his office.

"Where are you going?" Pein questioned.

"I moved back into my old room, Zetsu and I returned to being partners, while you were gone." I told him quickly.

Pein nodded and began going through the paperwork on his desk. He was so strange. Going from being emotionless, to flirty, to conservative and back again. I walked down the stairs thinking about his actions. It wasn't that I didn't like him, its just that I wasn't sure if I liked him in a romantic manner. I felt the same way about Zetsu, both men were more than just friends, but I was unsure as to what exactly they were to me.

The rest of the Akatsuki were easy to place in terms of a relationship status. Kakuzu is like a crabby grandfather and Kisame is similar to a rambunctious uncle. Deidara is equivalent to my best friend and Sasori is like an older brother. While Konan, is a second mother to me, always looking after me, but the other two remaining men, I just couldn't place.

I was so busy thinking, that I didn't notice that I was on the roof, until a gust of wind from opening the door hit my face. I whistled for Lushirio and then pulled my cloak tighter. The big cat flew onto the roof and stalked over to me. I walked over to the ledge and sat down with the beast.

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I noticed a figure on the ground who looked out of place. He had a black cloak and was walking toward the building against the flow of people. My eyes hardened and I gripped Lushirio's fur, coaxing him to fly down and give me a closer look.

The stranger's eyes flashed up to see what was falling. But, by that time, I had already flown into the alley next to the base. He continued his advances on the base and I pulled the hood on over my face. I followed him and the crowd walked around me in respect. The man, whom I had determined was male, because of his build, turned around again.

This time I allowed myself to be spotted. He stopped and I caught a look at his eyes. They were red and I immediately snapped my eyes shut and reached for a kunai. Noticing my hand movement, he distanced himself. Opening my eyes again and scanning the area, I realized that fighting in the center of the Hidden Rain, was not the best idea. So, I followed after the man, who I assumed was Sasuke, since the other Uchiha had been vanquished.

I stopped my advancements, once we reached an abandoned part of the village. The figure pushed the cloak off of his head and I proved my assumption right, when Sasuke turned to look at me. I glared at him and he smirked at me.

"What are you doing in the Hidden Rain?" I asked him, venomously.

"I've come to retrieve you." Sasuke answered.

"Why? Madara is dead in case you weren't aware." I answered him steadily.

"Madara was right in choosing you for a bride. Your blood line limit is powerful and together we could revive the Uchiha clan for Itachi's sake." Sasuke said insanely.

"For Itachi? You've lost your mind, Itachi would not want this. I'm going to kill you right here and right now." I breathed.

Before I even had time to react, he had activated his sharingan. I tried to close my eyes, but I was already trapped. He wasn't using any torture or mind controlling techniques though, he simply had me frozen to the area I had been standing. I glared at him and he walked toward me with a smirk plastered on his features.

"I hate you." I hissed.

He didn't respond and I attempted to snap my hand, to summon a beast, but I couldn't move it. I saw Lushirio out of the corner of my eye. He was at a distance, circling Sasuke until he had an opportunity to attack. I refocused my attention on Sasuke, so that he wouldn't be tipped off by my actions.

Sasuke was about three feet away from me, when Lushirio sprung. I smirked at Sasuke, as the big cat launched at him. However, Sasuke just stood there. He grinned at me and then stepped aside. I blinked in surprise; there was no way Lushirio could have missed from that angle.

"Did you think I had forgotten about your cat?" Sasuke sneered.

He smacked the large cat down and I flinched. Sasuke stepped on him and kicked him repeatedly. I snarled and tried to move my arms, but his sharingan held strong.

"Stop!" I told the stupid sharingan user.

Sasuke laughed and then walked over to me, grabbing my chin. What was it with nasty Uchiha's and stinking touching my face?

He moved closer, so that I could feel his breath and then forced his lips onto mine. My eyes snapped open and I looked at him in disgust. He forced my mouth open and that's when I remembered that I had control over at least my mouth. I bit down hard on his tongue, making him bleed, and then spat on him, as he grasped his face.

There was a sound behind me and I tried to look, to see who it was. Sasuke was in absolute shock on the ground before me. He was shaking his head and backing away.

"You're dead…" Sasuke stammered.

"You are right little brother, but I seem to have become reanimated." The figure said.

"Itachi?" I questioned.

"What are you doing Sasuke, let her out of the jutsu." The man replied.

Sasuke looked at the man for several more minutes, before his eyes moved to me. He released the Jutsu and I spun around. Itachi was standing before me and I blinked. His eyes flashed over to mine and I threw my arms around him.

"Why didn't you come earlier with the others? I didn't know you were alive." I murmured.

Itachi hugged me back awkwardly and then looked at his little brother.

"There was something that I needed to do." He told me.

"Itachi… why didn't Madara tell me he brought you to life. Why did you follow orders and kill the Uchiha. Why didn't you just tell me?" Sasuke asked tears running down his face.

"Sasuke, the Uchiha were going to start a war with Konoha and innocents would have died. I carried out my duty for the village, not against it." Itachi told him gently.

"I'm going to revenge you. I'm going to kill the leaf and then restore the Uchiha clan." Sasuke told Itachi, his eyes flashing to me.

"I'm not reproducing with you." I snorted.

Itachi looked at his brother and sighed. He gave me a sympathetic look and then began speaking.

"I screwed up Sasuke, I should have done, so many things. I made you who you are, even though it's not what I wanted. I don't blame Konoha for anything, I never have. Forcing others to conform to your will, is not the right way to go about restoring the Uchiha, either. But no matter what you do… I will always love you." Itachi told Sasuke.

"You make it sound as though you're leaving. You're coming back to the base… aren't you?" I asked, sadly.

"I've spent too much time here, I've done what I came to do and now it's time for me to go." Itachi told me, as his body began to crumble. He had a look that was as close to happiness, as I had ever seen him. He walked forward and poked Sasuke's forehead before completely collapsing.

"Wait!" Sasuke stated.

I went to grab onto Itachi as he fell, but he was already gone when my hand reached him. Sasuke looked unsure and depressed and I figured I could leave without any resistance.

I stalked away and then I felt a sharp chakra spike. I was shoved to the ground as Sasuke pinned me.

"What are you doing, Sasuke? This isn't what your brother wanted!" I growled.

"Even if it goes against what he wanted, I'm still avenging him." Sasuke told me.

I struggled beneath him and then all went black.

"Dam it." I growled

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I woke up in a dark room, with a raging headache. I was in someone's bed and I was only in my undergarments. My kunai had all been confiscated and I vaguely remembered being pinned down, by Sasuke.

I assumed that he had captured me and locked me up at his place of residence. My weapons had been taken, so that I would not be able to fight and my chakra was drained, so there was no way I was summoning anything.

I rolled over and sat up, taking in my surroundings. There was a lamp next to me and I instinctively reached for it. I turned on the light and had to adjust for a minute, before I could see properly.

My eyes flashed around the room, searching for both enemies and a way out. My gaze landed on a chair, with a figure on it. I blinked in surprise, when I realized who it was.

"Zetsu?" I questioned.

The plant man opened his eyes and looked at me. But, as soon as he realized my state of indecency, he looked away. I looked down and remembered my state of dress. I blushed and pulled the blanket over myself.

"Where are we?" I asked embarrassed.

"We are at my garden, near Konoha, **were we first met." **Zetsu told me.

"Sasuke?" I questioned.

"I stole you away, while the **punk was sleeping." **Zetsu answered.

"He got that far… did he do anything to me?" I asked uncomfortably.

"…"

I searched my body quickly and found nothing that hadn't been there before. I wasn't sore either, so I hoped nothing had happened. Zetsu stood up and walked over to me.

"The only thing I noticed was the drug he put in your system. **It makes you sleep, but he gave you too much.** It gave you a fever; we needed to get rid of **your clothing, **to reduce your body heat." Zetsu told me, as he placed a hand over my forehead.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

Zetsu turned off the light again and then moved back to the chair, leaving the bed for me. I wouldn't mind him sleeping with me, it's just that I wasn't really dressed…

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Zetsu woke up to my tossing and turning. Because of the fever, I had chills. I was cold now and he needed to warm me up. Zetsu shook me gently and I moaned in pain. My head still ached and even when I slept, it still throbbed. He turned out the light and sat next to me.

He didn't have much of a choice, but to get into bed with me and keep me warm. He slung an arm around my waste and pulled me next to him. He was careful not to touch anything needlessly. I curled up into to him, instinctively drawn to his heat.

He stayed with me the whole night and then he eventually fell asleep.

I woke up warm; I blinked and found myself right next to Zetsu. He was still sleeping and I tried to sit up. I moved too fast though and my head throbbed. I felt sick and tried to get out of bed. Zetsu sat up and saw me scrambling to get out of the bed. I stood up and had to steady myself. My head was fuzzy and the walls spun for a second.

Zetsu got out of bed and steadied me. I hurried into the bathroom, with him following behind me. I threw up in his toilet and moaned. Zetsu hadn't entered the bathroom, probably out of courtesy. When I was finished I rinsed out my mouth, in his sink and then stumbled over to him.

The drug was really powerful and there was nothing I could do to ease the pain in my head, or the other symptoms. Zetsu grabbed my shoulders and I wrapped my arms around him tiredly. I stunk, I wanted a shower, but I couldn't do it by myself.

"Zetsu…?" I asked.

"Hn." He responded.

"I Stink." I told him.

He looked at me for a second and then brought me back into the bathroom. He set me on top of the sink and I continued to lean my face against him.

"Do you want me to help you** take a shower?**" Zetsu asked.

I nodded against him in embarrassment. Zetsu walked over to the shower and turned it on, so that it was warm. He slipped off his shirt and pants and then retracted his mandibles. We were now both in our undergarments and I closed my eyes, waiting for him to take off the rest of my clothing.

However, Zetsu just picked me up and walked into the shower. He held me against him and I tried not to drift back to sleep. He washed my hair very gently; as though he was afraid he might hurt me and then moved to washing my body. He started with my shoulders and then moved down to my arms. He washed my chest, and then continued down. He was very professional and didn't touch me inappropriately. When he was finished, he moved on to himself.

Once we were both rinsed, he turned off the shower again and picked me up. I had fallen asleep halfway through and I was basically dead weight. Zetsu put a towel over me and then set me on the counter again. He leaned me against the wall, since i was still sleeping and then Zetsu dried himself off and got dressed. He came back and picked me up. He set me on the bed and adjusted the towel. He found a large shirt that would fit me, like a dress and brought it over.

He kept the towel over my body, as much as possible and then removed my bra and underwear. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to look at my body, its just that he didn't want to do something that I wouldn't like. He put my arms through the sleeves of his shirt and then buttoned it up. It hung down past my knees and he put me back into the bed. He laid down next to me again and pulled me flush against him. I curled up into him and Zetsu laid with me until I woke up again.

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Note: So, to the seven and a half of the people that actually read my story, thank you. :3 There is probably one or maybe two chapter left and voting is still open on my profile, although right now it looks like Zetsu is going to win XP (Two votes) see you next time on… this isn't a game show -_-.


	16. Training with the Beast

I changed this chapter a lot; I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I just got over the flu, so my head has not been cooperating with my writing. Not to mention the anime expo has been occupying my mind. So, this chapter came out of thin air :3 Anyway here it is.

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters, ***except for my OC Mehio*)

"Mehio?…" Zetsu asked.

"Hmmm." I mumbled, curling up closer to my pillow.

"**We need to go; **leader will expect us back soon." Zetsu stated gruffly, becoming uncomfortable with the close proximity to the girl.

I groaned and tried to bury my face farther into the pillow. 'Since when do pillows breathe?' I wondered, as I wrapped my arms around it. My eyes snapped open and I blinked at the distressed plant, who wasn't quite sure how to react to my actions.

I pulled myself away from him and promptly landed on the floor. I grumbled under my breath, as I found that I'd miscalculated the edge of the bed.

The shirt I had on, slipped down my shoulder, exposing my skin. I looked down and quickly found that I was not in my usual attire. My face turned bright red and I realized my undergarments were missing as well.

Zetsu walked over from his side of the bed and stared at me. He noticed my red tinged cheeks and apparent surprise.

"What happened?" I murmured, thinking about all the things that could have happened, since I was uh, kind of naked.

"You threw up and then asked for my **assistance** showering. **I clothed you in that, **because your previous attire was tarnished** and your undergarments soaked."** Zetsu explained.

"…ohh" I said, sighing in relief, but still embarrassed. Now that I thought about it, I suppose I did remember asking him for help in the shower.

"Thank you for putting up with me." I murmured, as an afterthought.

"Not a big deal." Zetsu stated.

I sat up and mentally thanked Zetsu for finding a shirt that covered most of my body.

I walked over to the bathroom and found that my clothing was grimy and my undergarments still drenched. Dang, he wasn't kidding when he said my clothing was 'tarnished,' I thought. I grabbed the material and threw it into my bag.

I walked back out and saw a cloak on the dresser, it wasn't Zetsu's. The man was already wearing his. I picked it up and realized that it was Pein's. I had been wearing it a lot lately and he hadn't even asked for it back.

Zetsu watched from the bed, as I pulled on the cloak. He frowned and looked away from me. He didn't like that I had such an attachment to it. Pein was basically claiming me, by allowing me to wear it.

"Okay, we can head back to base now." I stated.

"Hn." Zetsu replied, before standing up and walking over.

I noticed the look of displeasure on his face, but decided to dismiss it. He was probably not all too happy about taking care of my half dead carcass. The look passed and he seemed to get over his discontentment. He grabbed my arm and we dissipated into the ground.

When we resurfaced, Pein looked up from his paperwork.

"Where have the two of you been?" Pein asked, emotionlessly.

"The hideout, near Konoha." I told the stoic man, vaguely.

Pein raised an eyebrow and studied us for a moment. It was making me nervous and for some reason, slightly embarrassed. Zetsu and I hadn't done anything, but leader didn't know that.

Pein refocused on his paperwork and waved a hand in dismissal. Zetsu and I walked out of the office and back to our rooms. It was around afternoon, so the rest of the Akatsuki were probably on missions. So it wouldn't be worth going to the living room.

We walked downstairs and I headed back to my abode. Zetsu went to his greenhouse, to tend to his flowers. I mumbled a quick "bye" and then entered my room.

I flopped onto my bed and whistled for Lushirio. I hadn't seen him in a while, so I was starting to worry about him.

There was a growl from underneath my bed and I leaned over the side of the fluffy covers, to see what it was. Although, I could already guess what had made that sound. Lushirio yawned and then gave me his usual bored cat look. I giggled and then sat back up. The lazy cat slowly hauled himself out from under my bed and stretched.

"I get kidnapped by creepers and you sleep soundly?" I questioned.

The beast just blinked at me and then jumped up onto my bed. He nudged my face and then curled up at my side.

I heard footsteps outside my door and peered up to see. The door slammed open and Deidara strolled in. The blonde was all excited about something and looked like he wanted to jump me. Lushirio cracked an eye at him and then gave him a tiger groan.

"Mehio! You're back, yeah! Now we can celebrate!" Deidara yelled cheerfully.

"Celebrate what?" I questioned.

"Eh… Well Nagato came back and Pein too, yeah, so we thought we would have a party." The blonde answered. 'He was probably just making up excuses to trash the base,' I thought, chuckling.

"Alright, when's the party? I'll go get Zetsu." I stated, cheerfully.

"Now, yeah. I already asked Zetsu though, he wasn't interested." Deidara said.

"Okay… Well what about Pein and Nagato?" I questioned.

"Pein glared at me and well Nagato was uh… With Konan, yeah and I thought I'd better not bother them." The bomber said, coloring a little.

"I see… Well, let's go then." I said awkwardly.

We walked through the hall and down the stairs to the living area. Kisame was sitting on the couch with a glass of something green. Kakuzu was at the table near the kitchen with the same thing. Sasori was also at the table, but didn't have a drink on him.

"Finally! Now we have enough for a competition." Kisame cheered.

"Competition?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Yep, its part of the party, yeah." Deidara laughed.

Kisame got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. He came back with a tray of food, which he set on the counter.

"Let's eat, then we can play." The shark said, grinning.

The tray contained an array of different items, ranging from seafood to Chinese. I grabbed a plate and then sat at the table with the other guys. Kisame was already slightly buzzed and laughed a lot for no apparent reason. But, it was contagious and he had even me laughing.

When we had finished up the meal, Kisame pulled out a bottle of sake. Kakuzu handed out some glasses and I blinked at them in surprise.

"I don't drink." I mumbled, remembering the previous time.

"Ha ha, well that's the competition." Kisame said toothily.

I glared at Deidara and he laughed it off.

"Come on, I wasn't here for your last endeavor." Kisame pouted.

"Besides, you can give in at any time, yeah." Deidara stated.

I grumbled but picked up the glass, I would only drink a little. Kisame poured sake into each of the glasses and sat back down. I eyed the liquid distastefully, deciding that I would quit after the first glass.

"Alright, after one person drinks the other has to drink within a minute." Kisame said.

"I'm going to win." Kakuzu stated, cockily.

"I doubt that." Kisame and Deidara both stated.

"I'll bet on it." Kakuzu bragged.

"Psh, you're on stitches." Kisame grinned.

"At least we know who's going to lose, yeah." Deidara chuckled.

I glowered at him, and then kicked him in the shin. The blonde cursed and then glared back at me.

"I'm tired of waiting, lets start," the puppet master stated, irritated.

Kisame downed his glass easily and it was then Deidara's turn. The blond chugged his and Sasori did so too, seconds after. Kakuzu drank his quickly as well and then it was my turn. I blinked at the liquid, it was so unappealing, but I choked it down.

Kisame refilled the glasses as they emptied and I found myself drinking more than just the one glass. Deidara's words had stung my pride and now I was determined to at least put up a fight.

Three glasses in and I was starting to get tipsy. Deidara and Kisame were red in the face, but still going. But Kisame was already buzzed before the game, so that made sense. Sasori and Kakuzu didn't seem affected at all though.

The game continued and I was still in, but I had the hiccups and felt really hot. Deidara laughed every time the sound escaped my mouth.

"I'm surprised you're still going." Kisame stated loudly.

I blinked and then nodded at him, making a sound of agreement. Sasori was really good at this game, he was holding up just as he had in the beginning. Kakuzu wasn't doing too bad either. However the rest of us were showing signs of drunkenness.

Nine glasses and I was about ready to call it quits, it was getting unbearably hot. Deidara's turn came up and the blond reached for his glass and then passed out. He fell forwards and hit the table. Kisame busted up laughing and I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I can't believe you held out longer than he did." Kisame said, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, from laughing so hard.

"I'm surprised as well, I'm glad I didn't bet money on your losing." Kakuzu mumbled.

I sat up, now that I had regained my pride, I was done. I had been done for a long time, but I was going to quit now, before I ended up like Deidara. Standing was harder than it looked, especially when the room was spinning and I was wobbling. Kisame laughed at my disoriented figure.

I immediately sat back down and put my head down on the table. I was not going to make it out of here, it seemed. I was almost as bad as Deidara, who was now passed out on the floor. He had fallen out of it, and was too drunk to get up and move around.

My head was starting to throb and I groaned. Kisame chuckled and drank another glass. I had to hand it to them, they could really handle there alcohol.

I reached up and pumped some healing chakra into my forehead. I hadn't really been expecting much relief, but sighed when the pain subsided.

Footsteps drew near the table and I sat up groggily so see who the new comer was. Pein glared down at us and I almost wished I was passed out on the floor with Deidara.

Kisame belched and then looked up as well. As soon as he saw leader, he straightened up, pretending to be sober. The other two had no problems, there alcohol tolerance well beyond ours.

"What is the meaning of this?" Pein asked icily.

"Nothen, just havin a drink." Kisame slurred.

Pein raised an eyebrow and then his death glare was forced onto me. I crouched down further and tried too hide from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Return to you rooms, the party's over." Pein stated, returning to his usual stoic self, while keeping an eye on me.

Kisame sat up and stumbled out, picking up the bomber on his way. Sasori walked out after, not the slightest bit affected. Kakuzu was the last to leave, apparently he was more drunk than he appeared, because he walked in a zigzag line to the door.

"Fuck!" I heard from the staircase, as Kisame tripped onto his face. I heard some shuffling and then it was just Pein and I.

I hesitantly looked up at the pierced man and found his gaze traced on me.

"What were you thinking?" Pein asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Sorry." I whispered, averting my eyes from his criticizing look.

Pein sighed and then picked me up.

"Pein!" I asked.

"You couldn't walk even if you wanted to." He stated.

I couldn't argue with him there, and to be honest I was glad it wasn't Zetsu that had found me. He had already saved my butt earlier that week and I was tired of being a burden on him. Not that I wanted to be a burden to Pein either, though.

Pein walked up the stairs and brought me to my room, he set me down on my bed next to Lushirio. Leader could be stoic and emotionless but, he wasn't a ruthless leader, unless necessary.

He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. I colored, but didn't complain.

"Thank you." I murmured.

"Don't do that again." Pein warned, as he left my room.

I leaned back into the large cat and silently vowed never to drink again. The chakra had helped with the hangover and luckily I didn't feel sick from drinking so much. I put my hand over my stomach and probed around just to check, but found no sign that I was going to be sick.

I moved Lushirio over with my foot and then climbed under the covers. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. It wasn't that late, only around five, but the alcohol made me drowsy.

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I woke up without any sign of a hangover. Lushirio was snoring on my leg and I shook him off. He yawned and then rolled over onto his back, cocking his head at me. I couldn't help but smile, as I rubbed his belly.

I stretched and then went to the bathroom, to get the smell of stale alcohol off of my person. I changed out of the smelly garments I had on and took a shower. When I was decent I walked out of the room.

I had gotten up early today; it was only five in the morning. However, that made sense because I had gone to sleep earlier.

Before I closed the door, I called to the big cat on my bed. He lumbered out and stood next to me. I knocked on Zetsu's door, but he didn't answer. 'Maybe he got a mission or something,' I thought.

I shrugged and continued down the hall, but wasn't quite ready to face any of the guys from last night. So I headed upstairs, to the roof. Lushirio padded after me and I thought I would train with him for a bit.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I was startled to see Pein standing there.

"Zetsu isn't back from his mission?" Pein asked

"I checked his room before I came up, he didn't answer… I didn't know he had a mission." I stated, feeling left out. Zetsu was my partner and we were supposed to stay in pairs for missions.

"You were sleeping, so I had him go on his own. It was just a recon mission though, he should have been back." Pein stated.

I frowned, it wasn't like Zetsu to be late.

"I'll go look for him after I train, if he isn't back by noon." I stated.

Pein nodded and the turned on his heel, heading back to his office.

I continued up to the roof, pondering on what could have happened. Zetsu was a capable ninja, but if he wasn't quick or stealthy enough, he could get caught.

Lushirio growled and brought me back from my thoughts.

"I haven't had any good training with you for a while, sorry." I apologized.

The cat flicked his tail, as if to dismiss my statement and then stood at the other side of me.

I faced the big cat and then summoned my sword. I didn't train with my arrows, because I didn't want to hurt him.

The big cat shook his head and then started running. I ran after him and he quickly turned on me. I staggered back, as he pounced. We may be partners, but neither of us held back during training.

I rolled to the side, as his claws dug into the concrete were my body was moments ago. He ran at me again and I swung the sword. He jumped up onto the blade and knocked it away from me. He swiped again and seemingly hit me. He stopped and looked at the body on the ground. It poofed and I was replaced with a log.

I summoned a dragon and hopped up onto its back. I flew over Lushirio and nudged the dragon, it breathed fire onto the cat and I looked down to see if he was okay. Lushirio wasn't there though. He was behind me, clawing at the dragon's tail. He had flown up onto the dragon when I wasn't looking. He launched himself up and knocked me off of the dragon.

I smacked the cement with my back and groaned. He roared and I quickly kicked the big cat off of me. Summoning a polar bear I got onto its back, as the ice from Lushirio's attack began to cover the ground. The dragon was still in the air and I snapped my hands. It flew down and I pulled myself back up.

"You're not holding back today." I growled out, as the polar bear snarled and swiped at the big cat. Lushirio had his ears pinned down and was hissing and clawing at the beast before him.

As soon as I was over the big animal, I dropped down and tackled the cat. He hissed and tried to claw at me as he lay on the ground. I chuckled and scratched his ear. I snapped my hands again and the two summoned animals disappeared. Lushirio huffed and I laughed.

"That was a good training exercise." I stated, as I cracked my back and neck.

I sat up and Lushirio pulled himself up as well. He shook himself and then gave me a tiger pout. "What?" I questioned.

He kneeled down and I realized he wanted me to get on his back. I climbed on and he ran over to the ledge. He jumped off and I held on, pressing my body closer to his, to give myself a better grip. He flew to a forest, just out of Rain.

When we landed I gave the cat a confused look. He ran off and at first I thought he was just here for food.

"Hey! You mangy fur ball, don't take me to the middle of nowhere just to hunt." I stated, although not really mad at him.

Lushirio came back and gave me an irritated look. I caught on to his body language and understood that he wasn't here to play. I quickly summoned my bow and arrows and then followed after the stealthy beast. I wasn't sure what I was up against, so I summoned some poison dart frogs. I pulled on some gloves that I carried in my ninja pouch and then tipped my arrows with the frogs poison. I snapped my hand again and the frogs disappeared. One hit with these poisoned arrows would kill in seconds.

Lushirio paused and looked at something behind a tree. I walked over and peeked around, expecting some kind of enemy. I pulled my arrow back along the bow and then stopped when I saw the cloak.

I walked over, still cautious and found Zetsu. Usually I would have known it was him because of his plant like appendages. However, they were retracted and therefore I couldn't tell.

"Zetsu?" I questioned, leaning down and shaking him slightly.

There was no response, so I rolled him over and opened his cloak for a better look. I was startled at what I saw. He had puncture wounds all over his body. Someone had stabbed him repeatedly with a kunai. I reached out and put my finger over his neck to check for a pulse. He had a pulse, but was barely breathing.

I put my hand on his chest and started to heal his wounds. Being in the open like this was not a good idea, so I summoned a dragon and tried to haul up his body. As soon as I did this, a wire snapped and the trap was set. I immediately covered Zetsu with my body, as an explosion rang though the trees.

I opened my eyes and quickly checked to make sure Zetsu was okay. The dragon I had summoned was crouched over me and with its armor scales, it wasn't heavily damaged. I heard Lushirio whine and I looked over to see if he was okay. He walked over and nudged my face, he was fine, he was just checking to see if I was.

I had a burn on my leg from a bit of the blast, but it wasn't serious, so I let it go. A branch snapped and I looked over at a ninja in a white mask. ANBU. I sat up and Lushirio attacked the figure. The dragon that had shielded Zetsu and I, breathed fire and I released multiple arrows.

With so many attacks directed at the black ops, there was no way he was going to dodge everything. So, he dodged the attacks that he thought would do the most damage. He took an arrow to the arm, but quickly ripped it out. He reached for a kunai to counter attack with, but it was too late. He fell down in a seizure and then stopped moving.

I lifted Zetsu onto the dragon and then called Lushirio back to me. I climbed onto the dragon, along with Lushirio and then started healing Zetsu's wounds again. All of the wounds were inflamed and there was a green crust along the edge of some of them. He had been poisoned with something and I needed to get back to base quickly.

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When we arrived I jumped off of the dragon. The dragon gently slid the plant man off of itself and I helped lower him onto the ground. Lushirio pushed the plant mans arm up with his head, so that he was half slung over him. Even though I usually used the big cat for fighting, he was actually quite a good medical assistant. I helped push Zetsu over him more and then we moved as quickly as possible down stairs, to my room.

I opened my door and Lushirio walked in with Zetsu. Using my chakra, I hauled him up and laid him down on my bed. I got my medical equipment and then drew some poison out of the wound. I put the poison into a jar and started adding different antidotes to it. I found a match quickly and established that the poison was acidic.

I hooked an IV up to Zetsu and then injected the medicine into the liquid. Then I moved back to Zetsu's wounds. His breathing was ragged and I was worried that the poison would reach his heart or another important organ. Although the medicine would counteract the poison, it would take time. So I used my chakra to draw out the offending toxin. I reached for another jar that was on the table and used it to hold the acid.

It took about an hour to clean out all of the wounds, and there was still some of it in his system. But the antidote would counteract the rest of the acid, so I wasn't worried. I started to heal up the wounds again, but it was too much. I had been training all morning and then used a considerable amount of chakra to remove the acid. I passed out on his chest tiredly.

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I woke up again a few hours later and quickly sat up, remembering what had happened. Zetsu's eyes were open but, he seemed out of it.

"Zetsu?" I asked, reaching out to take his pulse. It was better than it had been before, but still slower than I would have liked.

Zetsu took a ragged breath and then tried to focus on me. My chakra was still depleted, so I gently sat him up and then wrapped some bandages around the wounds that were partially healed. He reached up and covered his face with his hand and then looked at me again.

"**Mehio, the trap.**" He stated.

"I'm okay, the AMBU is dead." I stated.

He looked down at the wounds and then looked around at his surroundings. He tried to get out of bed, but I pushed him back.

"You can't get up yet, those wounds are too serious." I told him.

He sighed and then nodded, lying back down.

"Do you need anything, does it hurt anywhere, and did I miss a wound?" I asked, all in one quick succession.

"**I'm fine.** However, I do need to use the bathroom." Zetsu stated, still groggy,

"Okay." I stated, kind of embarrassed.

I helped him up again and walked him over to the bathroom. I stood there awkwardly, not sure If he needed help or not. But, he just walked in by himself, closing the door. I walked back over to my bed to wait.

He came out again a little after, but the strain from so much movement was clear. I reached out and steadied him. He leaned into me and I realized just how tired he was.

"Thank you." he stated.

I nodded and then helped him back over to my bed. He was clammy and I felt his forehead. He had a fever and he looked miserable. Moving the medical equipment aside, I helped him get back into bed. I turned to leave, but he wouldn't let go. He dragged me into the bed as well and I squeaked in surprise. He pulled me next to his chest and wrapped his arms around me.

"Zetsu?" I questioned.

"**Stay.**" Zetsu murmured, going back to sleep.

I looked at him for a moment and then sighed. I wrapped an arm around him gently and then went to sleep with him.

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I like it when i get reviews X3 It improves my story and makes me want to write. Its like this switch goes off and im like 'oh crap i better finish this next chapter' lol. Anyway, thanks to all that commented on my story ^::^ It's not done yet so stay tuned!


	17. Remorse

Eh, sorry guys I'm in a depressive mood, so this chapter might be… well depressing. I'm going away for a while, so I probably won't update often, but I know that there is least one more chapter to write. Anyway, here's the next chapter :3

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters,***except my OC Mehio*)

Zetsu groaned in his sleep and the slight noise woke me up. I was still curled up against him, but surprisingly I wasn't embarrassed. I would have liked to have gone back to sleep, but I wanted to do a quick check up on Zetsu.

I pulled myself away from him carefully and then climbed out of bed. Once out of bed, I checked Zetsu's pulse and his temperature. He still had a low fever, but his heart rate was back up to speed. I pulled the blanket back and undid a few of the bandages around his chest, the wounds were healing fine. As I was rewrapping his wounds, I heard a knock at the door.

I looked up and then gave a small noise of acknowledgement to the visitor. The door opened and Pein walked in. I looked at him curiously and then walked over to see what he needed.

"How is Zetsu?" He questioned.

"His wounds are healing up nicely, he just needs rest to break his fever and recover." I said quietly, trying not to wake up the plant man.

"I see, there was a mission I wished for the two of you to attend. However, since Zetsu isn't well enough, you and I will have to undertake the mission." Pein stated, unemotionally.

"What's the mission?" I asked.

"Konoha has declared that it wishes to ally itself with us. We will be going to Konoha to confirm the alliance." Pein stated, steadily.

"You wanted Zetsu and me to complete this mission?" I questioned, moderately surprised. Konan and Nagato would have been a better choice; they were more experienced in negotiations.

"Yes, I wanted you to go in my stead as a spokesperson for the Hidden Rain and since Zetsu is your partner I was going to have him accompany you. But, since he is unable to, I am going instead." Pein stated.

I looked at him in surprise. The fact that he trusted me enough to go on a mission involving negotiations for an alliance, must have meant he had great trust in my abilities.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea? Konoha isn't all that fond of the Akatsuki." I murmured, still unsure.

"But it is one step closer to the world peace that I desire, so it is worth the risk." Pein stated.

"Alright, I will accompany you." I said.

I walked back over to my dresser to get dressed. I picked out the set of clothing that was pitch black. Pein raised an eyebrow at my choice.

"What?" I questioned.

"This council is formal, so you are required to wear something more appropriate." Pein stated.

"I don't really own anything that is formal." I said, it wasn't practical for a ninja to wear something frilly and restrictive. It would inhibit motion and cause problems, so I didn't' have anything like it.

"I have some attire for you to wear." Pein stated, a small smile playing on his face.

I glared at him, if he had a dress for me the whole time, then why didn't he just say so?

Pein turned and walked away. I threw the clothing back into there respective drawers and then ran out of my room to catch up to the orange haired man. He glanced over, once I was next to him, but continued up the stairs.

Once we reached his office, Pein paused at the room that Nagato was occupying, which used to be Madara's. He knocked on it and Konan and Nagato answered.

"Konan, Mehio needs a formal dress for her mission." Pein stated.

"Of course." Konan said, eyeing me and then smiling.

She walked over and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the room. Nagato allowed us to pass and then glanced over at Pein, who was hiding a grin. Konan continued into the room, passing the bed and bathroom, to a closet.

She walked through the door and turned on the light, the closet was huge. There were multiple items in it, although the majority seemed to be Konan's. I pondered why it was that she had moved all of her things into Nagato's room, especially since she had her own room, next to Pein's. 'Perhaps Deidara was right,' I thought.

Konan continued to shift around in the closet, skipping all of the elaborate frilly stuff, thankfully. She finally stopped near the end and pulled out the articles of clothing I would be wearing.

"Here, this should fit." Konan said, handing me the dress.

She shooed me into the bathroom with the clothing. I picked up the dress, it wasn't that bad I suppose. It was mostly black with red trimming along the bottom and red ribbon used to lace up the back. The sleeves were weird; they didn't connect to the dress.

I put on the dress and then started lacing the back. It was similar to the corsets I usually wore, so it wasn't hard to figure out. The dress was form fitting until my waist, where it then flared out to me knees.

I stared at the sleeves, not really sure how they worked. I pulled one on, it reached from just below my shoulder, to just past my fingertips. I tied the top of the sleeve with the ribbon connected to it. The sleeve held, so I figured I had done it right. I repeated the same process with the other sleeve and then glanced at myself in the mirror.

The dress probably looked better on Konan, but is suppose I didn't look that bad. It clung to all of my curves and represented the Akatsuki well.

"Are you done?" Konan asked.

"Yeah." I said, walking out of the bathroom.

Konan gave me a once over and then paused when she reached my feet.

"You can't wear those boots." Konan stated.

"Why?" I questioned.

"It doesn't match the dress." Konan replied.

She walked off and then came back with a pair of heels. I stared at the black things. They were a good three inches off the ground.

"I can't wear those." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Why? They fit." Konan stated.

"I can't walk in them." I murmured.

Konan let a small laugh slip past her lips and then handed them to me.

"You're not going to be walking much in them and Pein won't let you fall." Konan chuckled.

I unzipped my boots and then slipped my feet into the heels. I wobbled slightly and Konan held onto my shoulders.

"Come on, Pein is becoming impatient." Konan said, once the shoes were on.

I walked back out and into the main area of the room, where the two men were waiting. I was almost tall enough to look Pein in the eyes now.

Pein was wearing formal clothing and I had to look away, to keep from staring. He had the same color scheme as me, a black jacket, black pants and a red long sleeve button up shirt. He wasn't wearing the jacket buttoned up and at least three buttons near the top of his shirt were unbuttoned.

His eyes were trained on me and I ended up looking at him. His features were just as stoic as ever, but his eyes held a different emotion.

"That dress looks nice on you." he commented.

"Eh, thanks, you look… formal." I stated awkwardly.

"Let's go." Pein said.

I walked over to the orange haired man and we walked up the stairs. The heels were a pain in the ass; I kept tripping on the stairs and had to hug the walls, to keep from falling.

When we reached the roof, Pein looked at me expectantly. I snapped my hand and a dragon appeared. I couldn't jump in the heels though, so I tried to pull myself up onto the beast. Pein picked me up and set me on the dragon. He then climbed up and sat down behind me.

I nudged the scaly animal and it took off, flying off in the direction of the hidden leaf. It would be a three hour flight of awkwardness. For the most part of the trip we didn't talk, except when Pein commented on a piece of scenery.

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Once we neared the hidden leaf, Pein decided that it would be a good idea to brief me on the mission.

"They may ask questions about the Akatsuki, you may answer but don't allow them to know anything that could jeopardize-" Pein started.

"I know, I won't let them have any important information." I replied, interrupting the stoic man.

The conversation ended there, because we had reached the gates. Konoha ninja littered the surrounding area and I landed the dragon just outside the gate.

I slid off of the beast, landing next to one of the AMBU. He jumped back and looked at me in surprise. I dusted off the dress and then stood tall, looking at the greeting party.

Pein came up behind me a moment after I had touched ground and I snapped my hand. The dragon disappeared and a few of the ninja were taken back by the act. Pein walked forward, to the ninja that I had scared earlier.

"We are here on behalf of the Hidden Rain." Pein stated, not needing to raise his voice.

"Yes… of coarse, follow me." The ninja said, perhaps a little fearful of the pierced man that had destroyed the village.

Pein and I followed the man, a few of the other AMBU falling into place behind us. The others moved out of our way, watching us wearily.

The reaction we received was making me nervous and I watched the large group cautiously. Pein didn't seem at all threatened and walked through them confidently. A pink haired girl watched us, a frown on her face. I guessed that this was Sakura, since her hair color was an uncommon color. I frowned back at her and she looked away.

I was paying so much attention to my surroundings that I forgot to watch my footing. I tripped forward and Pein wrapped an arm around my waist, keeping me standing. He kept me close to him for the rest of the walk and I couldn't say that I didn't like it.

He was saving me from the embarrassment of falling and I felt safer. A few of the ninja were now giving us cursory glances, but I ignored them.

When we reached the Hokage tower, I sighed with relief. My feet were starting to kill me and I was growing tired of all the attention we were receiving.

"The council is up ahead, I'm afraid this is as far as I'm cleared to go." The ANBU stated.

I nodded in his direction and then continued to the designated area. Pein hadn't distanced himself from me. We entered the room and I looked around. There were multiple stands set up along the sides of the room. There was a set of chairs in the center as well. Pein walked over to them and I followed. There was an AMBU member standing next to chairs and I eyed him wearily.

We sat down and I scanned the room ahead of us, the Konoha elders were seated there. Tsunade was also there, but off to the side, with a few AMBU guarding around her. I felt like we were on trial and the room was emitting a suspenseful aura. I retreated closer to Pein, seeking a sense of normalcy.

Tsunade saw the action and her eyes were trained on the motion. She knew her ex-student was uncomfortable. The fact that she neared the S-class criminal though, startled her. Was it possible that Mehio and the orange haired man had a relationship? Tsunade was pulled out of her thoughts, as Pein spoke.

"We represent the Hidden Rain and have come to confirm your declaration of peace." Pein stated.

"Will you uphold the treaty's requirements?" Tsunade asked, surprised.

"We have not been given the conditions." I stated.

"Ah, I see." Tsunade said.

"We simply ask that The Hidden Rain ally itself to Konoha and provide help, should we need it. Of course, the same actions will be extended to your village as well. But with the Akatsuki disbanded, I should think that any immediate threats are over." Danzo stated.

"I think you have mistaken, Akatsuki has not disbanded, although it has changed its objective." I stated.

Whispers broke out in the room and increasingly more weary eyes were cast upon us.

"What are Akatsuki's new goals?" Tsunade asked.

"The jinchuriki have no further meaning to the organization, we are now taking missions to bring in revenue for The Hidden Rain." Pein stated simply.

"What kind of missions would those be?" Danzo asked.

"Don't pin any assumptions on the organization, we are taking missions that differ from no other village, including the leaf." I stated.

"Alright, as long as the Akatsuki has given up on its former ways, I suppose we can honor the agreement. Although, don't be surprised if some of the villagers treat your members with some hosti-" Tsunade stated.

"I beg to differ Tsunade, it appears they are still a threat." Danzo interrupted.

The old half blind guy snapped his hands and before I could even react, an AMBU had begun an assault. He had a sword and it was aimed at my throat. Even with my medical skills a wound like that would kill.

Time seemed to stop, as the man who had been standing next to me before, attacked. There was no time to do anything, and I snapped my eyes closed, awaiting the sword that never came. There was some movement and a small grunt. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder.

Pein was standing there; the blade was shoved through his upper body. I immediately stood up and summoned the large dragon we used to get to Konoha. It immediately shielded Pein and me.

I jumped on the AMBU and used my chakra to smash his head into the ground. He died on impact. The dragon crouched down farther, leaving no entry for anyone to attack.

I turned around and saw a look of pain on the pierced mans face. He pulled the sword out of his chest and dropped it on the floor. He tried to walk towards me but the wound was too unbearable. He started to crumble before me and I caught him, as his body started to fall. The sword had pierced his heart.

The wound was gushing blood and Pein started to cough it up. He gripped at my shoulder and I looked at the wound in shock.

I pulled my hand up and started to try to heal the mortal wound. He was dead weight, as he leaned against me. I set his body on the ground and searched his face frantically. He watched my actions, his eyes starting close slightly. I increased the chakra flow to his heart, but it was futile.

"Pein, its okay, I…I can heal this." I whimpered.

He focused his eyes on me and reached out a hand to my face. He cupped my cheek and a small smile spread across his features. Water started dripping onto his cheeks and I realized I was crying.

"Don't cry…" He murmured.

The tears continued to fall, as I frantically pumped more chakra into his wound.

"Don't leave me…" I whispered, trying not to cry.

"You have… to get back to base…Nagato or Konan can take my place as leader…" Pein said, having trouble talking, with the blood that was getting caught in his throat.

"No." I sobbed, reaching my other hand up, to touch his hand.

"Why did you save me? Your life is more important to the organization than mine!" I cried.

"I love you-" Pein started, as his eyes began to glaze over and his hand started to slip away from my cheek.

"Please, stay…" I whispered, holding onto his hand.

"Don't cry…" Pein repeated again.

I leaned into him and sobbed, holding onto his shirt. The stupid smile was still dusting his features and it only made me cry harder. I held his hand and continued to talk to him quietly, trying to keep him awake.

**Tsunade P.O.V**

I didn't even have time to say anything as the AMBU attacked the girl. There was a flash of orange and then the assault was stopped.

I stood up and looked at the two diplomats for there country. Mehio stood up and looked at the scene shakily, she obviously had no idea what had just happened.

She snapped her hand and a dragon appeared. Tsunade could not see what happened from there, but the AMBU had surely died.

Tsunade glared at Danzo, he had stepped out of line this time.

"What were you thinking?" She yelled.

"I am simply protecting the leaf." Danzo replied, steadily.

"You planned this?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

"Of coarse, however I was not expecting to get so lucky and kill the leader." Danzo replied, smugly.

"Now they will never ally with us, you have just declared war!" Tsunade stated.

Danzo did not reply, he just continued to look on with smugness. AMBU were surrounding the plated beast, but they couldn't break through. Did Danzo honestly thing that Pein and Mehio were trapped?

Tsunade returned her attention to the scene and heard the sobbing. She looked away sadly, what was done was done, nothing could be changed.

**Mehio's P.O.V**

Pein's breathing stopped and he closed his eyes. I held his hand still trying to heal a dead man. I switched tactics and tried to give him CPR, to restart his heart, but it was useless. I let go of his hand and looked away from the body, in remorse.

I sat there in a pool of his own blood for a while longer, shaking from the strain of my tears. After a while the sadness turned to anger though.

I touched the dragon's scales and silently commanded it to breathe fire on all of the people in the room. The dragon responded and I heard screams, as the ninja began to get burned. I summoned Lushirio and then directed the dragon to sit up again. I stepped out of the protection of the dragon and glared at Danzo.

"You just signed your death warrant." I snarled.

Danzo was trying to escape along with the other elders. I summoned my bow and immediately fired twenty arrows at him. One hit his shoulder and a few other arrows lodged themselves in the other elders.

"Stop!" Tsunade yelled.

My eyes flashed to her and I glowered at her.

"You planned this!" I growled.

The AMBU started closing in on me and I smiled. I made a few hand signals and then hit the ground. A spider web like mark spread across the floor, the AMBU that had been closing in, now stopped. A fleet of animals began appearing all over the room. A lion launched itself at one of the ninja and mauled his face. A saber toothed tiger attacked another ninja's leg, goring it until it was just a limp hunk of flesh. That was just some of chaos that was beginning to unfolding.

I returned my attention to the elders and Tsunade. Lushirio jumped forward and bit Danzo's jugular. He fell on the ground and looked around him for help. I walked over to him and summoned my sword; I pierced his heart and then moved on to the other elders. Killing Danzo was an act of mercy that he didn't deserve, but I did it anyway.

Tsunade walked over and stood in front of the AMBU.

"Mehio stop this!" Tsunade yelled.

One of the AMBU that had been guarding her before, ran at me with a sword. I parried it and glared at him. My eyes were glazed over in sadness and hatred. I pushed him away with my chakra and he smashed into the wall, falling to the floor.

I grabbed Tsunade by the jugular and shoved her into thee floor, using my chakra. She looked at me sadly and tried to remove my hand. Her hand was laced with chakra as well, but I was stronger and she gasped underneath me.

"You killed him! You said you wanted peace, but it was a lie!" I said angrily.

The AMBU that I had smashed into the wall stood up and started talking.

"Mehio we didn't know! Nobody knew what Danzo was plotting!" He said.

I looked at him and realized it was Kakashi. I looked back down at Tsunade, who was starting to turn blue.

"You're not even worth killing." I said sadly, removing my hand form my former teacher.

"I won't fall to your level of impudence any longer." I murmured.

I stood up and snapped my hand. All the animals except for the dragon and Lushirio disappeared. I walked over to the dragon hollowly. Lushirio leaned against me, in an attempt to console me, but it wasn't working.

The AMBU that were still alive looked at me in fear. I didn't spare them a glance. There was a huge crash and I looked over to see a blond boy with cat scratches on his face.

"What have you done?" the boy asked.

"What have I done! What has your village done?" I accused, a few tears escaping my eyes again.

I pointed at the dead man near the dragon.

"You people said you wanted peace! It was a lie… We came here because we wanted to ally ourselves and look at what you did!" I cried.

"Grandma Tsunade is that true?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi had helped up Tsunade and she nodded sadly. The other elders were cowering behind them, pathetically.

I continued walking and gently lifted the body. It wasn't right for him to look like this, he never looked so weak. I set him down on the dragon and then ripped the heels off. I jumped up onto the dragon and looked at the scene.

It looked like most of the AMBU were going to live as long as they received some medical attention, but Danzo and a few AMBU were definitely dead.

"Don't expect any sympathy from us. You lost your chance for peace, if it is decided that your village is going to crumble, then it will crumble." I said emotionlessly.

"Mehio… we're sorry." Tsunade said, apologizing.

I didn't answer I just flew off. I held onto Peins body, keeping it from falling off of the dragon.

"She loved him…" Tsunade whispered to Kakashi, once I had exited.

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When I reached the base, Nagato and Konan were waiting for me. It was raining in the Hidden Rain, so neither of them saw the tears.

I stepped off of the dragon and they looked concerned. I reached for Pein's body and set it down on the ground. I had removed his jacket and I placed it over his face.

Konan walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. My face was downcast and the misery was washing off of me in waves.

"They said they wanted peace… They lied… He- he saved me… I couldn't heal him… I couldn't do anything…" I whimpered.

Konan tried to pull me in for a hug, but I shrugged her away.

"It's my fault." I murmured.

Nagato walked over and inspected the body. He looked at Konan sadly, confirming my statement.

"It's not you fault. He saved you for a reason; he did not do it so that you would regret anything." Konan said, trying to soothe me.

The rest of the Akatsuki besides Zetsu and Kakuzu walked out onto the roof, but stopped when they saw the scene.

I hugged myself and forced myself not to cry in front of them.

"Mehio?" Kisame asked, trying to persuade me to look at him.

He saw the body on the ground and sighed. Deidara and Sasori saw it too.

"Mehio… it'll be alright, yeah" Deidara said, trying to comfort me.

He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged away from him and he saw my tear stained face.

I ran into the building and the blonde tried to follow. Sasori grabbed his arm and shook his head. Deidara looked at him angrily and pulled against the former puppet.

"Sasori is right, she just needs time." Nagato stated.

"Time, yeah? She needs somebody to sympathize with." Deidara stated

"She doesn't need sympathy. She just needs time to get over his death." Nagato said.

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I ran down the stairs blindly. I tripped on one of the stairs and fell forward. It hurt, but I was only bruised, I would live. I continued until I got to my room. Once I was in my room I slammed the door and then made my way to the bathroom.

I walked over to the bathtub and climbed inside. I curled up in the corner and pulled my knees up to my face to hide my tears. I stopped after a while and then just sat in the tub numbly. I was out of it; I even missed the knock on my door.

Zetsu walked into the room and looked around. I wasn't in the main part of the room, so he walked over to the bathroom. He saw my crouched form in the bathtub and sat down next to it. Even with the tear marks streaking her face, she was beautiful. The dress complemented her features nicely.

"**Mehio? **What happened?" Zetsu asked, addressing my current state.

He had learned after he woke up, that Pein and I were going on a diplomatic mission, but he hadn't been there to see our return.

"He died saving me." I murmured.

Zetsu looked at me and then reached out his arms. He wrapped them around my waist and pulled me out of the bathtub.

"**Did you love him?**" Zetsu asked, straightforward.

I nodded and he pulled me into his embrace. I didn't do anything; I just sat there at first. But eventually, I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his waste.

"Make it go away." I murmured.

"I can't." Zetsu said, stoking my hair absent-mindedly.

I closed my eyes and continued to lean against him. Zetsu continued to touch my hair or run his hand up and down my back for a while longer. I was completely relaxed now and on the verge of sleeping when my stomach growled. Zetsu chuckled and the vibrations from it, ran into me.

"Let's go get something to eat." Zetsu murmured.

"Mmph." I murmured.

Zetsu walked out of the bathroom, still holding me. I pushed away for him, but he didn't set me down. I gave into him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He left my room and then made his way to the kitchen. There was no one in the room besides us. I couldn't help but feel happy about that. I didn't want anyone to look at me with pitying eyes.

Zetsu set me down on the bar chair next to the kitchen table and then walked off to find some cooking ingredients. I laid my head down on the table and watched him rummage through the fridge. He pulled out some ingredients and started cooking.

"Zetsu, how are your wounds and fever?" I asked, distractedly.

"**We are fine.**" Zetsu stated.

I nodded and then continued to watch him cook. He was making a chicken stir-fry. Once he was satisfied with the ingredients he had put together, he walked over and sat next to me. I glanced over at him, but kept my gaze mostly on the counter. I was emotionally drained and depressed, so I wasn't really in the mood for talking.

Zetsu seemed to pick up on this, he didn't say anything, just studied my body language. I glanced over again and this time I kept the eye contact. I leaned over and put my head on his pants, in an attempt at comfort.

Zetsu reached out and picked me up, setting me onto his lap. I leaned against him, for some reason he was like my lifeline. I was very comfortable around him and he didn't pity me. The plant man stroked my hair and I closed my eyes again.

He leaned closer, nudging his face next to me neck. His warm breath tickled my skin and I opened my eyes again. His lips descended onto my neck and very gently laid butterfly kisses.

"Zetsu?" I asked

He stopped his actions and pulled away, murmuring an apology. His actions weren't completely undesired, but I didn't want that kind of attention at the moment. He picked me up again and set me back in the chair I had previously been sitting in. Then he walked back over to the cooking food and stirred it. He seemed satisfied, because he turned off the stove.

"**It's ready.**" Zetsu stated.

He reached up to the cupboard and pulled down two plates and then found some eating utensils. He divvied up the stir-fry and then handed me a plate.

"Thank you." I murmured.

He returned to his seat next to me and I picked at the food. It wasn't that it wasn't good; it's just that I had lost my appetite, since this morning. We ate in silence and I managed to eat at least half of the meal. He noticed my lack hunger with concern, but didn't comment. It was normal to be depressed when someone close died.

I brought the plates into the kitchen, put away the leftovers and then cleaned the dishes. It was the least I could do, since Zetsu had taken car of me and cooked for me.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." I commented, once I was finished.

"**Let's go.**" Zetsu replied, walking towards the stairs.

I followed after him and grabbed his hand, I don't know what compelled me to do so, but he didn't seem to mind. His hand curled around my own and I became slightly embarrassed.

We walked up the stairs, but Zetsu brought me to his room instead. I didn't complain, I just tread after him.

"You can stay with us tonight." Zetsu stated.

I nodded and then moved to curl into his bed; the dress was slightly agitating though. I untied the back and it became more comfortable. He probably just wanted to keep an eye on me, not that I would have harmed myself purposely anyway.

I lay down and then looked over to see what he was doing. He retracted his mandibles and then took off his shirt and cloak before sliding into the bed.

I wrapped an arm around him and placed a small kiss on his lips. He watched my actions, trying not to do anything that would scare me away. I pulled away, red beginning stain my cheeks and murmured a, 'thank you… for everything'. His lips turned up at the corners in a small smile and the color on my face darkened.

He chuckled quietly and then pulled me closer. I closed my eyes and eventually went to sleep. He fell asleep shortly after, the grin still present on his features.

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Sorry for the morbidly depressing chapter. I re-watched Code Geass, so if you've seen it you know it's depressing and it has clearly affected my writing. I didn't know how to get Zetsu to end up with Mehio, because I was stupid and made this story a love triangle. So, I just decided to kill off Pein. He is personally my favorite character, so I cried. Sorry to all that were hoping that he and Mehio would end up together, but the majority of the votes I got, were for Zetsu. Anyway, I'm going to go cry in a corner now. T-T.


	18. El fin

Sorry for updating so late, this is the last chapter. Over 10,000 words ()-(). Hope it doesn't completely let people down. The last chapter sucked so hopefully people will still read the last chapter. Just a reminder, look up at the description area, it should say rated M. It might be necessary now. Anyway here's the next chapter ^::^

(**I do not own Naruto or the characters**, *just my OC Mehio*)

I woke up around eight and found Zetsu still sleeping next to me. I pulled myself away from his arm, which was wrapped around my waist and maneuvered out of his bed. I needed to tell Konan and Nagato what Pein had instructed me to do. I walked out of Zetsu's room quietly and then headed over to my room.

I took a quick shower and got dressed, putting on a black skirt and a fishnet shirt along with a black corset top. I slipped on my socks and boots and then looked up noticing the cloak. I reached out and grabbed it instinctively. At least I still had a memento of the man that had saved my life.

I walked out of the room and walked to the stairs. I climbed to the top and then headed for Pein's former office. The door was closed and I frowned. I tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. 'Konan and Nagato must not be up here,' I thought to myself.

I started walking back down the stairs and nearly got to the first floor, when Deidara tried to tackle me to the ground.

"Mehio!" The bomber yelled.

"What?" I asked, looking at the blonde in confusion.

"Uh, what are you doing up, yeah?" Deidara asked, trying not to let me pass him.

"I need to talk to Konan and Nagato." I told the blonde, trying to walk around him.

"You can't go down there!" The blonde stated, bordering on desperation.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at his persistence.

"Uh well-" The blonde started trying to come up with a good excuse.

"The first floor is being fumigated." A voice said from behind me.

"Fumigated?" I asked turning around, and looking at Zetsu.

"Yeah! There was a big infestation of… spiders." the blonde fumbled, glad that Zetsu was backing him up.

"Spiders…" I said.

"**Black widows,** to be exact." Zetsu put in.

I cringed visibly at this, I wasn't very fond of spiders in the first place, but poisonous spiders made it one hundred times worse.

"Well, I need to talk to Konan and Nagato, where are they?" I asked.

"They are overseeing the fumigation, yeah." Deidara said.

"Then I'll go see them." I said, swallowing hard at the prospect of walking down to my worst nightmare.

"No, you can't! The gas is toxic, you'll die." The blonde said pleadingly.

"Then why are Konan and Nagato down there?" I asked confused.

"**They are in a non quarantined area that has been sealed off. You can't see them at the moment."** Zetsu said easily.

Deidara looked at him gratefully.

"When will they be done?" I sighed.

"At twelve." The artist said.

"Alright." I said, slightly annoyed.

I turned around and started walking back up the stairs. Deidara glared accusingly at Zetsu.

"What the hell, you were supposed to keep her upstairs, yeah." The blonde whispered.

Zetsu shrugged and the two followed me upstairs.

Deidara veered off on his floor, leaving Zetsu and I to ours.

"He was acting weird." I told Zetsu as we walked back to our rooms.

"**It's Deidara.**" Zetsu answered.

I grinned at his joke and then followed Zetsu down the hall. We entered his room and Zetsu immediately walked over to his garden. I followed him easily. He started watering his plants and I helped him. When we were done, he walked over to the corner where the carnivorous plants lived.

He picked up the vile of flies and opened the cap. They flew over to the brightly colored plants and were immediately captured. It only took one curious landing on the lid of the plant, to seal their doom.

Once the plants had all been tended to, I flopped down onto Zetsu's bed. It was ten and I still had two hours to kill.

Zetsu sat down next to me and I glanced up at him. He touched my hair unintentionally and I closed my eyes. His touch was relaxing and I immediately inclined into his caress.

He leaned in closer, testing his limits. I opened my eyes again and looked at him steadily. He traced his hand down the side of my cheek curiously. My breath hitched and his eyes moved to my lips. I blushed and looked away. He made me feel so weird, different from the other members in the house. Different even from how I felt around Pein, when he was alive.

He leaned closer, drawing my face back towards his and I held his gaze. I could feel his breath on my face. He drew his lips closer, placing a slow and gentle kiss on my exposed lips.

He was leaning over me now and I fidgeted beneath him, the kiss was pleasant, but anymore than that made me uncomfortable. He picked up on my hesitance and drew away, reluctantly.

"**Did we scare you?**" Zetsu asked.

"…no, I'm just not used to the contact." I stated, not able to look at him I the eyes. But after a while I regained some of my confidence.

I sat up again and he watched my actions. I reached out uncertainly and touched his cheek. He sighed quietly and closed his eyes. My lips curved up in a smile, he acted like Lushirio, when I touched him.

I traced his lips with my finger, curiously and he groaned. Zetsu opened his eyes again and I dropped my hand. That was as far as my bravery would allow me to go.

Zetsu pulled away from me and walked into the other room. Restraining from touching her was difficult for him. But he didn't want to scare her, so he retreated. Her light caresses drove him crazy and it took all his strength not to kiss her roughly.

I scooted back and leaned against a pillow on his bed, still slightly flustered by the whole ordeal. How could we have gone from watering plants to kissing in a matter of minutes?

Zetsu returned a few minutes later with two cups of something and what looked like a board game. He handed me the liquid and I realized that it was orange juice. I hadn't really had anything to eat or drink today, so I took it gratefully.

Zetsu set the box down and I looked at it curiously. It wasn't a bored game; it was a box of pastries. He leaned against the pillow on the other side of me and handed me the box. Since we couldn't use the kitchen, I suppose this was a pretty decent breakfast.

"Thank you." I stated.

He nodded and we ate in relative silence. When we were done, he took the box and put it away. I relaxed into the pillow and looked over at the time again. It was eleven, I sighed and Zetsu noticed the action.

"What do you need to talk to Konan and Nagato about?" Zetsu asked.

"I just need to tell them what Pein said." I murmured.

"Hn." Zetsu grunted.

The subject of Pein, never really interested the plant. I suspect that he hadn't really liked him. Perhaps he was jealous, or perhaps not. We sat in silence for a while, until it became awkward and I needed to break the ice.

"Well, what do you want to do, now? We have an hour before we can go downstairs again." I stated.

"What do you want to do?" Zetsu asked.

"I don't know." I murmured, trying to think of something.

"Lets go see if they're close to being done downstairs." I said, sitting up.

"**No."** The plant said.

"I'm sure that it will be okay as long as we don't get too close." I told him, wondering why everyone was so persistent about me not being able to go downstairs.

I got out of bed and started heading for his door. He followed after me and I quickened my pace. I opened his door and sprinted out; I stopped once I got to the first stair though, deciding to wait for the plant.

Kisame walked down the stairs with a few boxes in his hand. He saw me and panicked, trying to hide the boxes.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Nothing, just eh-" Kisame started.

"**He's bringing the fumigator some equipment." **Zetsu interrupted, walking towards us.

"Ah, I see." I stated, starting to go downstairs.

Kisame panicked and pushed me into the wall. He gave me an apologetic look and then sprinted down the stairs. I picked myself up and shot a confused look down the stairs, in the direction the fish man had gone.

"I don't understand why everyone is acting so weird today." I said, slightly offended that seemingly everyone was allowed to go downstairs except for me.

Zetsu walked over and I looked at him slightly agitated. I started to walk down the stairs again and Zetsu grabbed my arm.

"What?!" I asked, starting to become impatient.

He pulled me closer and his lips descended onto mine. My eyes widened and I blinked at him in surprise. He pushed me closer to the wall and I squeaked, as he pressed himself to me.

"Zetsu?" I asked, whimpering.

He looked guiltily at me, but he didn't stop his advances. He brought his hand up and pressed it against the wall by my head, while his other hand rested at his side. I pushed at him half heartedly and tried to pull away, but the position was hard to disengage from.

He released his lips from mine and I panted, a blush starting to deepen on my features.

"The fumigators are done!" Kisame yelled form downstairs. My brain was too fuzzy to comprehend that it was still only eleven, which was earlier than expected.

Zetsu pulled away from me and I stumbled down the stairs. I tried to compose myself, but flashes of him kept popping into my head. Zetsu followed after me, but kept his distance, he knew he had overstepped his boundaries.

Once I was downstairs, I realized just how dark it was. I walked over to the living room area and tensed up. It was really dark in here. I pulled a kunai out of my boot and peered around cautiously.

"Happy Birthday!" Multiple people yelled, as the lights were turned back on.

Kisame hopped over the couch and launched himself at me. I dropped the kunai in surprise and then gasped, as I was pulled into a bear hug.

"Eighteen! You're all grown up." The shark said obnoxiously.

The rest of the Akatsuki came out of their hiding places and I looked at them dumfounded.

"What?" I asked, looking stupid.

Kisame let me go and grinned hard at me. Deidara was smiling too and I just stood there, not really sure how to react.

"It's the thirteenth?" I questioned

"Yes." Sasori said.

Zetsu came up behind me and I turned around and looked at him.

"Did you know too?" I asked.

"**Yes, we learned this morning.**" Zetsu said.

**Flashback:**

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_Zetsu woke up to a banging on his door. He sat up, trying not to disturb my sleeping form. _

"_Zetsu!" Kisame yelled._

_Zetsu groaned and pulled himself out of the bed._

"_Get up; what the heck are you doing, yeah?" Deidara asked._

"_**Shut up."**__ Zetsu hissed, trying not to wake me up._

_The two men continued maneuvering through the dangerous plants, attempting to come around the corner._

"_We figured out that today's Mehio's birth-." Kisame started. He stopped once he saw me in Zetsu's bed._

"_Ouch! Dam it; don't just stop randomly, yeah! Your back is fucking hard." The blonde yelled, rubbing his nose and walking around the big fish man._

_Zetsu walked over to the two men and ran a hand through his messy hair._

"_**Don't wake her up.**__" He growled, quietly._

"_You…slept with her?" Kisame asked, surprised._

"_You fucking slept with her, yeah!? You don't sleep with people that are emotionally compromised!" Deidara whispered, angrily._

"_What?" Zetsu asked, slapping a hand to his face in aggravation._

"_Was she a virgin?" Kisame asked._

"_What?!" the bomber seethed, slapping the blue man._

_Kisame pouted and rubbed his arm. Deidara took a deep breath and then relaxed, although he was still glaring at Zetsu. Zetsu crossed his arms and looked at the two idiots in his bedroom._

"_Okay… That's not why we came…We came because Konan found out that Mehio's birthday was today and we're throwing a party." The blonde said, trying to stay calm._

"_Just keep her up here till noon." Kisame said, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively._

_Deidara glared at Kisame and then looked over at my sleeping form. I was still curled up asleep, my hair sticking up in some areas. He turned on his heals, satisfied that I was okay. Kisame followed suit, leaving Zetsu alone._

_Zetsu turned around and sighed, the two idiots antics wore him out. The door slammed and he cringed, I rolled over, but didn't wake up. _

'_The emotional turmoil, along with all the crying, had really made her tired,' he thought._

_Zetsu walked back over to the bed, it was early, only six thirty. He lay down on the bed next to me and pulled me over, so that I was leaning against him again. He had to keep her upstairs until noon and he wasn't sure how to go about it, without ruining the surprise._

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"I see… That's why all of you were so intent on keeping me upstairs." I mused, looking at the party rap hung up all over the room.

It had clearly been done by the men in the room; it was bunched up and cluttered. I chuckled, the image of them trying to put it up, popping into my head. I still couldn't grasp that it been almost a year since I'd been in the Akatsuki though.

"Yep." The blonde said.

"Thanks everybody." I stated.

"Well you seemed distraught yesterday, so we wanted to make you feel better." Konan said.

"How did you know though? I don't think I've told anyone." I questioned.

"I was going through Pein's files and I picked up yours. I hope you didn't mind me reading it." Nagato stated from the couch.

"Ah, no, that's okay." I said.

"Come on, yeah." Deidara said, dragging me over to the couch.

There was a stack of old board games out on the table. They were different from the ones that were kept with Twister. They must have been what Kisame was carrying down the stairs.

Konan sat down next to Nagato and Kisame sat on the other couch. Kakuzu sat next to Kisame and I sat next to him. Deidara took the chair and Sasori glared at him. Zetsu and Sasori were still standing. I sat up and gestured for someone to take my spot, I was happy to sit on the floor.

Zetsu walked over and sat down in my spot. I tried to walk over to an open are were I could sit down, but Zetsu caught my waist. He pulled me down onto his lap and I blushed.

"Heh, Sasori go sit on Deidara's lap." Kisame laughed.

"I wouldn't touch him with a ten inch pole." Sasori answered easily.

He walked into the kitchen and brought out a chair. Now that we were all seated, I was curious as to what we were going to do.

"Alright, let's play the first game." Deidara said, picking up the box on the top of the pile.

"Pictionary." Deidara said.

He opened the box and pulled out the cards, while Sasori brought out an easel with paper. Deidara pulled out a few markers and set them on the easel.

"Alright, we need to make the teams, yeah." Deidara stated.

"Alright, the people on this couch vs. the rest of you." Kisame said.

"Were going to win, we are the artistic team." Deidara said smugly.

"Yeah, but your on the team." Kisame laughed.

Deidara pouted and sat down in his chair.

"Birthday girl goes first." Kisame cooed.

"Pft." I grumbled.

I got out of Zetsu's lap and picked up one of the cards off the table. The object of the game is to draw a picture of one of the four words on the card and get your team to guess it. I blinked at the card, the words were: Pickle, Toilet, Couch and Plant.

I picked plant and started drawing leaves.

"Marijuana!" Deidara yelled.

"Weed!" Kisame countered.

"A plant." Zetsu murmured.

"Yep." I said, looking a Zetsu.

"Aw come on." Deidara pouted.

I walked back over and Zetsu pulled me back into his lap. He wrapped his arm around my waste and brushed my neck with his lips. My heart started pounding and my face turned red again.

"My turn." Deidara cheered.

"One, nothing." Kisame taunted.

He picked up a card and looked at it blankly. The words were: Konoha, Nail Polish, Yogurt, and Bone.

He started drawing a bottle and then a lid.

"A jar." I stated.

"Shampoo." Sasori stated.

Deidara looked frustrated and drew an arrow from the lid to the side and tried to draw the brush that was connected to it.

"A broom." Kakuzu stated.

"Nail polish." Konan said.

"Yes! Finally yeah, was that really hard to get?" The blonde asked.

"I think you should stick with your clay." Sasori stated dryly.

Kisame laughed and I couldn't help but chuckle. Deidara wasn't that bad, he just wasn't as great of an artist as one would expect.

The game continued until everyone had gone once, which took around an hour, because during the game some of the team members would fight. The score was tied at four to four and Kakuzu was betting against Deidara on our teams winning.

"Alright Mehio, your turn again, whoever gets it first wins." Nagato said.

I sat up and walked over, picking up the card. My words were: Tooth Brush, Tiger, Sage of six paths, and Tissue.

I picked up the marker and started drawing some eyes; I drew a triangular nose with a few lines coming off of it, indicating a mouth. I drew some whiskers and ears and then people started yelling.

"Cat!" Deidara and Kisame said at the same time.

I continued drawing a few more lines across the face, trying to depict stripes.

"A lion." Deidara called.

"A tiger." Kakuzu corrected.

I nodded and Kakuzu looked smugly at the blonde, who had just lost the bet.

"Let's eat and drink." Kisame said, throwing his hands up happily.

Deidara paid Kakuzu and then started walking to the kitchen. I touched his shoulder lightly.

"It's okay; you will win the next game." I told him

"Where are you guys going?" Kisame called.

Deidara looked at him blankly and I turned around, looking at him curiously.

"We have a reservation at the club." Kisame said.

Deidara and I walked back over to the group and I stood next to Zetsu.

"What club?" The blonde asked.

"The one a few blocks down the street." Kisame said.

The blonde nodded and then followed after Sasori, who was already leaving. The rest of the group followed. As we were walking I slowed down a little, so I could talk to Zetsu.

"Was the reason you attacked me earlier, so that you could keep me upstairs?" I asked. Zetsu cringed at my word choice.

"**Yes, **sorry." Zetsu murmured. The last thing he had wanted to do was scare me.

I nodded and we continued on to the 'club.'

As soon as we were in the building, I immediately regretted coming. The place reeked of alcohol and there were multiple drunkards. They were playing some sort of music, although it was basically just a bunch of CD scratching and synchronized singing. The windows were closed off to any sun light, all that could be seen were the lasers that frequently moved around the room and a few lights to mark areas where the drunken could trip.

The bartender saw our cloaks and immediately walked over. He showed us to an area where a half circle booth and a small table had been cleared.

Konan and Nagato moved into the smaller one, while the rest of us pilled into the booth. Deidara was on my left and Zetsu was on my right. Sasori was sitting next to Zetsu and Kisame and Kakuzu were sitting next to Deidara.

The people in the bar didn't seem at all worried about the guests in red cloaks that had arrived. Again I was reminded that the Akatsuki were not feared by the people of Amegakure.

"What can I get everybody?" A waitress with ruffled green hair and a few tattoo's asked.

"Give us a crate of sake and a few cocktails." Kisame told her. She wrote the items down and then looked up again.

"Uhm, I'll take water." I said.

She raised an eyebrow at this but didn't question me. She walked off and Kisame watched her go.

"Come on Mehio, you can drink, yeah." The blonde stated.

"Your right, I can, I just don't want to." I told him

He shrugged and waited for his drink.

The waitress came back a little while later with a huge bottle of sake and a plate of cocktails along with my water. She pulled out some cups for the sake and set them down on the table.

"Can I get anyone anything else?" She asked.

"Yeah, bring us the chicken, the steak, the fish, a salad…etc." Kisame said, naming multiple dishes for about a minute.

I looked at him in surprise; he didn't really expect us to eat all of that did he? The waitress seemed surprised as well, because she asked him if her list was correct. He nodded and she walked away.

"Kisame, you ordered practically everything on the menu, how are we going to eat all of it." I asked. 'Much less pay for all of it.' I thought.

"Eh, I order this all the time, don't worry it'll get eaten." Kisame said, grinning at me. I couldn't help but wonder if he meant that he ate it all by himself or with the rest of the group.

I leaned back against the chair and took a drink of the water. The room was kind of warm, so I took off my cloak and set it beside me. Kisame tried passing me a cocktail, but I declined.

"Come on, chicken." Kisame mocked.

Zetsu took the drink from the man and Kisame backed off. Deidara nudged me with his shoulder.

"Let's dance." the blonde said.

"I can't dance." I stated.

"It's easy, I'll show you, yeah." The bomber said.

Kisame was already getting up, to flirt with the waitress, so all that Deidara had to do was get Kakuzu to move.

"Kakuzu, let us through, yeah." the blonde said.

"Fine." Kakuzu said, standing up to let us through.

Sasori stood up as well and followed after us. Kakuzu wasn't interested and simply drank his sake. Zetsu watched from the booth.

There were multiple people on the dance floor and none of them were doing any kind of dancing I'd ever heard of. They just groped each other and waved their arms. I cringed, if Deidara wanted me to dance like that, he was going to get slapped.

"Okay, just follow what I do." The blonde said.

He took my hand and placed it on his shoulder and then held my other hand. He started walking around in a box formation, differing from the other guests. I stepped on his foot and he cussed.

"Sorry." I said apologetically.

"Brat, that's not how you teach someone to dance." Sasori said, as he took my hand.

He placed my hands in the same position, only this time; Sasori actually told me what to do. I followed his feet and managed not step on his toes.

"But I wanted to dance with her." Deidara pouted.

A few of the male dancers were eyeing my figure and I felt awkward.

Deidara stepped in after a while and took Sasori's place. Sasori was asked to dance by another girl and he danced with her instead.

"I think I'm done." I told the blonde after dancing with him for five minutes. He was quickly asked to dance by another female, so he left.

I turned around and started walking back over to our table. One of the men that had been watching me earlier walked over.

"Care to dance?" He asked.

"Sorry, but I'm done." I told him

I started to walk away and he grabbed my shoulder. I glanced over at him, a scowl starting to form on my face.

"I said I don't want to dance." I told him.

He became angry and grabbed my waste, dragging me next to him.

"I advise you to let go." I told him, starting to get pissed.

"Or what?" He asked, touching my butt.

"She said to **let her go.**" Zetsu growled, removing the guy's hand.

I laced my hand with chakra and punched him in the jaw. He fell on the floor and I glowered at him. Zetsu took my hand and walked me back to the table. All of the men in the booth were gone, but Konan and Nagato were still there.

Zetsu got back into the booth and I stopped at Konan and Nagato's table.

"Before Pein died, he told me that the two of you, or one of you could take his place as leader." I told them

"I see." Nagato said.

"I just thought I would mention it." I said.

"Do you approve of his idea?" Konan asked.

"Of coarse, you two have been in the Akatsuki longer than I have and both of you are capable leaders." I stated.

Konan nodded and then smiled at me.

"Thank you." She said.

I smiled back and then walked over to the booth. Zetsu was already seated and I scooted in, next to him.

"How long are we going to stay?" I questioned

"**Until they get drunk, **probably**.**" Zetsu said, referring to Kisame and Deidara.

I nodded and took another drink of the water. The waitress hadn't brought over the huge pile of food yet, so we would be staying at least until she did. Zetsu was drinking the cocktail that I had refused, and I felt kind of guilty.

I looked back out and saw Kisame, he didn't seem to be getting anywhere with the waitress. Deidara had a swarm of girls around him and I chuckled. He didn't seem to dislike the attention though. Sasori also had a mass of girls around him, but he was giving them death glares.

Kakuzu had disappeared; I had no idea where he had run off to. Kisame came back a moment later, looking slightly upset.

"Did she turn you down?" I asked.

"Psh, nooo." He slurred.

I chuckled and patted his shoulder. 'Being incapable of speaking wasn't exactly a turn on,' I thought to myself.

The waitress came back, bringing a few other waitresses with her. They each had two trays and I brought my hand up to my face, how the heck were we going to eat all of this. Deidara and Sasori made their way back to the table as well.

Kakuzu returned and I wondered where he had gone. Konan and Nagato walked over from their table to eat too. Everyone grabbed a plate and we ate. Kisame was laughing at nothing and I knew he was heavily drunk. Deidara hadn't had as much though and still looked pretty sensible. The others were mostly sober as well.

When we were finished the waitress brought us the bill and we each chipped in for the meal and drinks. Surprisingly, Kisame had been right almost all of the food had been eaten.

We had left at twelve and it was now five o'clock, Konan declared that it was time to head back to base.

Kisame sat up and I helped him steady himself. He had drunk two cocktails and the majority of the sake, so to be honest; I was surprised he was still alive, let alone conscious.

We left the bar and I walked with Zetsu. Kisame had sprinted off, laughing about something.

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When we arrived at the base, everyone pilled back into the living room. Kisame was on the couch an there was a new stack of colorful boxes on the table. He looked very proud of himself and I had to admit that I was as well; he had enough coherent thought to get home by himself.

Zetsu sat down on the couch and I walked over to him. He pulled me onto his lap again and I curled into him. I was tired and I honestly didn't care if anyone watched me cuddle the plant man at the moment. He wrapped his arms around my waste and I leaned my head against his chest.

"Presents." The blonde stated.

I peered at him as he handed me a box. I sighed, but reached out for the gift.

"That's from Sasori." Deidara stated.

I opened the package and smiled. He had created a small puppet that had the likeness of Lushirio. He had even painted it to match the large cat.

"Thank you Sasori, it looks like Lushirio." I said, still smiling.

"That was my intention." The puppet stated, looking smugly at the bomber.

"Okay, open mine, yeah." Deidara said, handing me another box.

I unsealed the box and took out the item. It was a clay representation of the dragon that I liked to summon. He had done a lot of work on it, all the way down to the scales, which were perfectly molded.

"I love it Deidara, it looks just like the dragon." I said, congratulating the blonde.

Deidara grinned at my compliment and I set the fragile thing back into its box. Kisame reached out and picked up a box handing it to me. He had a huge smirk on his face and I wasn't sure if it was because he was drunk or not.

I took the bag and cautiously opened it. My face darkened and I looked at him, uncertainly.

"Uhm thanks Kisame, but I don't know if I'll ever wear this." I said, embarrassed.

"Let me see, yeah." The blonde said.

I sighed, but pulled out the articles of clothing. Deidara's face turned from happy to mad in about two seconds.

The garments were not street friendly at all. If worn it would show way too much cleavage and the bottoms were stringy and could barely pass as an undergarment. The whole thing looked provocative.

"Pedophile!" Deidara said

"I'm not a pedoffffiillee, besides I know someone that would like it." Kisame slurred, drunkenly.

Deidara threw his shoe at the shark and his eye twitched in disbelief.

I put the apparel back in its bag and then fidgeted. That last comment hadn't exactly made me comfortable. Zetsu tightened his grip on me, so that I couldn't wiggle. The action was making him uncomfortable as well.

"Okay… well, happy birthday again Mehio, here's our present." Konan said, referring to both her and Nagato.

I took the box and opened it up; it was the dress that she had let me borrow a few nights ago.

"Thank you, are you sure you want to give it to me though?" I asked

"Of course, it looked better on you anyway… I hate to leave, but it's getting late and Nagato and I need to depart" Konan said, adding the end as an afterthought.

"That's fine." I told her. The two then got up and left.

There was still one more package on the table and then I wouldn't have to worry about anymore strange presents. Kakuzu reached out and then threw it at me.

I caught the box and opened it up. It was a cat plushy. I pulled it out, with a childish grin.

"Thank you, it's so cute." I told the stitched man

"It was on sale." Kakuzu commented.

I couldn't help but chuckle, that was so like him. He excused himself as well and then left.

"Deidara, we should leave as well, we have a mission tomorrow." Sasori said.

"Okay, I think I'm going to head up in a little bit too." I said

Kisame was fast asleep on the couch. He was drooling too and I laughed. I eased myself out of Zetsu's lap and then turned around to see if he was coming. I picked up the presents while Zetsu sat up and then we started walking up the stairs. I had debated on whether or not to help Kisame up to his room, but he was too heavy for me to really carry.

We got up the stairs and I walked down the hall to my room, while Zetsu returned to his. I put all of the presents away in their respective areas and then threw the rapping paper away. I then walked over to my bathroom for a shower.

Halfway through the shower, I heard my bedroom door open. I tested the chakra just to make sure that it wasn't a stranger. It was Zetsu; I relaxed and then finished my shower. I dried my hair and then slipped on my pajamas.

I walked out and Zetsu was sitting on my bed.

"Hey." I said.

"Hn" Zetsu replied.

I walked over and sprawled out on my bed next to him.

"What did you need?" I questioned.

"**Nothing,** I just forgot to give you this." Zetsu said, holding out a small box.

I picked it up and opened the little thing. There was a ring inside and I looked at it in surprise. The ring was silver and had a yellow amber, with a kanji symbol in the center of it that said: Zero. There was no mistaking it; it was Pein's old ring.

"Thank you, Zetsu." I said, tracing the symbol on the ring.

It was basically useless now that Pein was dead. The rings only bonded to one handler, so it wasn't usable anymore. But it was a keepsake that I really liked, along with the cloak.

"Your welcome." Zetsu replied.

"When did you get this?" I asked.

"When you left this morning, **I had time to get it.** I don't think Pein will miss it." Zetsu said.

"Hmm." I said.

I closed the box and set it on my dresser, next to the bed. I lay back down on the bed and sat there for a moment, then I touched Zetsu's ring absent-mindedly.

He picked up his hand and touched my cheek, I didn't reject him and even leaned into his hand a little. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, before standing up.

"Good night." Zetsu said.

"Night…" I murmured, slightly confused.

Zetsu walked out my room and I sat there perplexed. Finally, I maneuvered under the covers and went to sleep.

Zetsu returned to his room quickly. He was having a hard time controlling himself. She wasn't even trying to tempt him and he wanted her. He hated that, it wasn't that he didn't like her; it's just that he didn't want to attack her.

He banished his thoughts and then went to sleep as well.

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I woke up early to a loud chuffing noise by my head. I cracked an eye open and stared at the big cat that was sitting next to me. I sat up and realized that Lushirio was in my bead.

"What are you doing?" I questioned him.

He yawned and continued making the noise. It was nine; I sighed and rubbed his head. He closed his eyes and leaned into the pets. I buried my face in his pelt and tried to go back to sleep. He growled and I sat up again.

"What?" I asked the huge animal.

He gave me a tiger glare and I cursed. I got out of bed and walked over to my dresser. I pulled out some clothing and got dressed. Being bossed around by a cat is lame.

I stretched and then walked out of my room, Lushirio padded after me. I paused at Zetu's door and knocked. He didn't answer so I opened his door a little.

"Zetsu?" I questioned.

He didn't respond, so I walked into his room. Lushirio tried to follow me, but I made him stay outside. A seven hundred pound tiger pouncing on him was not what I wanted.

I walked in, moving around the corner with my eyes on the floor. It would be bad if I walked in on him changing. There was no reaction, so I looked up. He was still in bed.

"Zetsu?" I questioned walking over.

He opened his eyes and glanced over at me.

"I just thought I would wake you up, it's nine." I told him

He nodded and sat up.

"I didn't upset you yesterday did I?" I asked, thinking back to his quick retreat.

"**No.**" He said, not picking up on my reasoning.

"Oh, well you left pretty quick yesterday…" I said, trailing off.

He reached out and pulled me up onto his lap. I squeaked and blushed darkly. He nudged my neck and sighed. I watched him tensely, but that was as far as he went. I eventually relaxed and leaned into him. He growled and I froze.

"**Sorry**." he said, trying not to scare me.

I relaxed again and closed my eyes against his bare chest. He kissed my neck lightly and I stayed put. He continued the motion up my neck to my ear. I sucked in a breath and he growled again, lightly pushing me forward onto the bed. He leaned over me again and kissed my neck. I brought my hands up and pushed against him.

He stopped and pulled away from me. My breathing had sped up and I was embarrassed and uncertain of his actions. He backed up and apologized. He looked angry with himself and he wouldn't look at me in the eyes.

"It's not that I don't want your attention, it's just that I'm not used to it." I murmured, not exactly sure how to describe how I felt.

I sat back up and fixed my shirt a little.

"I don't want to scare you." He said slowly.

I blinked at him in surprise. He didn't scare me…

"But I'm not afraid of you." I told him.

He sighed and pulled me up against him again. She didn't understand what he wanted to do to her.

He kissed my lips again and I closed my eyes, melting into his light kiss. He held my waist and made sure to keep his hands planted there. I hesitantly set my hands against his chest for leverage, not entirely sure what to do. He released my lips and glanced at me. I was panting and completely red, but I wasn't resisting him.

He leaned in again and captured my lips, only this time he licked my bottom lip. I moaned and tried to stifle the slight noise. He bit my lip and I gasped, opening my mouth in surprise. His tongue entered and tangled with mine, searching my mouth.

I opened my eyes and he disengaged himself from me, noticing my distress. I panted and touched my lip; it was swollen from his bite. He licked his lips and then ran a finger over mine apologetically.

It was a good thing I was sitting down, because I probably would have been on the floor had I been standing. I leaned against him and he let me calm down. Once my breathing had evened out he kissed my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waste and closed my eyes.

I felt really tired and I hadn't even done anything. He placed a few wet kisses on my neck and I moaned, quietly. He growled and bit my neck, I sat up startled and he licked the wound in regret. Her subtle noises were driving him insane and he forgot that he was trying to be gentle.

"Please don't bite." I whined, feeling hot again.

"Sorry, your noises are **arousing.**" Zetsu said.

I blushed again and hid my face in his arm. He grinned at my childishness and then kissed the top of my head. 'He would have to take things slow with her and she was done for now,' he thought.

"Let's go get something to eat." Zetsu murmured.

"Okay." I said.

He sat up and I pulled away from him, moving off the bed. He got up as well and maneuvered over to his dresser and then over to his bathroom to get dressed. Once he was decent he came out and we left.

Lushirio was sleeping at his door and looked up when we walked out. He yawned and then sat up, padding after us. The cat was an enigma, he came and went as he pleased and I was never quite sure where he was.

We walked down the stairs and as we went, Zetsu noticed the hickey he had made on my neck. Not that he didn't dislike his mark, but it meant that there would be questions from the other members.

We entered the living room and found Kisame snoring on the couch, still passed out from the night before. I sighed, but left him where he was. Lushirio walked over to him and sniffed at his hand. The cat growled and then hopped up next to him. He sprawled out across the couch and closed his eyes as well.

I chuckled; Kisame was going to have a heart attack when he woke up. I grabbed a few pieces of fruit from the refrigerator and called it good. I wasn't all that hungry, especially when my stomach was all tied up in knots. Zetsu did the same and we ate in general silence, besides the occasional snore from Kisame.

Konan and Nagato walked downstairs and entered the room. I glanced up at them curiously.

"I have a mission for the two of you." Nagato said.

"What is it?" I asked

"It is a reconnaissance mission. The two of you are to travel to the hidden mist village and gather intel on a small group that has been attacking there village. It pays well and seems pretty straight forward. The client only requested that the two being hired, come disguised as a couple. They are going to pay for a hotel for the two of you to stay at until the group enters the village again." Konan said

"When do we leave?" Zetsu asked.

"Whenever it is convenient." Nagato said.

The two turned and left, leaving Zetsu and I to finish our breakfast. Konan paused when she saw Kisame though and raised an eyebrow. He was camped out on the couch completely oblivious to the large cat next to him. She continued walking and as she was rounding the corner she turned around and looked at me, touching her neck.

I reached up and felt my neck, looking down at the small mark. I blushed and pulled my cloak around the bite a little more. Zetsu watched me hide the mark and chuckled. I glanced at him, still blushing.

"Let's go now; I want to get there before night fall." I told the plant man.

He nodded and I walked out of the room. I whistled to Lushirio and he jumped off the couch, following me. The movement startled Kisame and he fell off the couch. I continued up the stairs and to my room. I found a bag and packed some necessities for the trip.

It was a reconnaissance mission and we weren't supposed to stand out, so I left the cloak on my bed and then walked over to Zetsu's room. Lushirio was sitting outside my door and I pet his head. Zetsu was already waiting for me outside and like me he had discarded his cloak for the usual ninja attire. He had retracted his mandibles in order to where the casual clothing.

We couldn't really travel underground to the mist because; we had to travel over a body of water. We walked up the stairs and onto the roof. I summoned a dragon and climbed up onto the massive thing. Zetsu sat behind me and Lushirio padded away, not interested in coming I suppose. It would take around four or five hours to get to the ocean.

The dragon launched itself off the building and flew off towards the ocean.

"We need to come up with some sort of alias." I said.

"Utsukushi and **Kemono** Issho." Zetsu said. (meaning: Beauty and Beast Together)

"You're not a beast." I said.

He grunted and then we continued on in silence for the majority of the trip.

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When we got to the ocean I sighed, it had been a long journey. I landed the dragon in the shadows of a cliff and then we walked down to port. Apparently the hotel was going to pick us up, which was convenient, because a dragon was kind of noticeable.

There was a large tour boat at the dock and we walked over to it. A man walked over to us and asked us if we were the ones taking the mission. He was short and had black hair, blue eyes and he was dressed in captains clothing. I nodded and he brought us onto the boat.

He brought us to a secluded room, away from the other guests and told us to sit down.

"I trust you have been briefed?" He asked.

"Yes, the basic details." I told him.

"You're my couple?" He asked again, eyeing Zetsu specifically.

"Ah, yeah." I said.

"Alright, my name is Jack and you two are on a honeymoon, so act like it. By the way, what is your alias?" He asked.

"Utsukushi Issho" I said, embarrassed by the name.

"**Kemono Issho**." Zetsu stated.

"Ah, fitting." Jack said.

"…"

"There will be someone here in a minute to dress the two of you up." The guy continued, before heading out the door.

"What?" I asked.

He didn't answer me, instead he closed the door leaving Zetsu and I alone.

I sighed and looked over at Zetsu; this whole thing was more complicated than I wanted. Konan had made it sound easier than it actually was. I sat down in a chair to wait for the people to come, Zetsu did the same.

A few minutes later, a few people came into the room. The females walked over to me smiling. She had a dress in her hands and I cringed. That was the last thing that I wanted to wear.

"Come on!" She said, encouragingly.

She grabbed my arm and brought me over to the bathroom. I glanced behind me at Zetsu and realized he was getting the same attention. The girls stripped me in around a minute and then threw me in the bath tub.

They were way too touchy and I jumped as one of the girls scrubbed my chest.

"I can do this myself." I said, not happy about the intrusion on my personal space.

"Yes, but we do it better than you." The girl said.

After about ten minutes of scrubbing and what seemed like unnecessary touching, they rinsed me off. I sat in the bathtub wrapped my arms around my body, trying to regain a little decency.

One of the women pulled me out of the water and tried to put the towel around my body. I snatched it from her and did it myself. She shrugged and then walked me over to a chair. I sat down and then the women began attacking my hair with a blow dryer and combs. Another girl was messing with my nails and I sat there with a frown on my face.

After my hair was dry they slipped the dress on, over my head. It was a blue strapless dress and it was way too tight and showy. The black hem of the dress was about three inches shorter than where my fingertips touched and I hated it. They slipped some black heals on my feet and then moved back to my hair and face.

The whole thing seemed needless as they put different powders and mascara on my face. They were curling my hair and then picking up some of the pieces to put into some kind of bun.

Finally what seemed like an eternity latter, they finished. They stepped back and took in my features.

"Okay, were done." They said, leading me back out.

The dumb heals were about seven inches too tall and I growled in irritation, as I tried to walk. Zetsu was already out and his crew was gone. My group ran off and I sighed.

"I feel man handled." I grumbled, walking over.

Zetsu looked up and saw me for the first time; he swallowed hard and tried to focus on what I was saying. The blue dress was stunning and her makeup was light and just accented her features.

Zetsu was wearing a white button shirt that was not buttoned all the way and a pair of black dress pants. His hair was messy and he had a sort of rugged attractiveness. I tried not to stare and sat down next to him.

"You look… **intoxicating." **Zetsu stated, gruffly.

I blushed and complimented his appearance as well. The door opened again and the man who had brought us on the ship entered. He looked satisfied with our change and beckoned us over to him. I stood up and then wobbled undignified, heals are retarded. Zetsu took my arm and helped me walk over to the man.

"Now that you are presentable, you have to go out and observe the guests. The small group that keeps attacking the mist is a couple team. We believe that one of them is responsible for the theft and assault on us." Jack said, pointing to the dining area.

"Remember, to act like a couple." he said and then left.

I walked into the room and peered around. There were hundreds of people, how were we supposed to find the culprits. A host took us to our table and Zetsu continued to help me walk. It was for my benefit and for our appearance as a 'couple'.

The tables sat four people, so we were sitting with another couple. The pair seemed to match each other; they were both blonde with blue eyes. We sat down and the friendly pair immediately started talking to us.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Misaki and this is my husband Ryuu." The girl said.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Utsukushi and this is Kemono." I told them, the couple picked up on the word play but didn't say anything.

"So, how long have the two of you been together?" She asked.

"We just got married, **we're on our honeymoon.**" Zetsu said. Misaki looked at him in surprise, not used to the alternate voice.

"Oh, how lovely, my husband and I have been married for a year." Misaki said.

I smiled at her and then inched closer to Zetsu; I wasn't the most social person around people I didn't know. I glanced around the room, pretending to be looking at the scenery, as I tried to find any suspicious couples.

"It's a beautiful room isn't it?" The husband said.

"Yes, the gold trimming on the white walls and the chandeliers really set this room apart from the others." I said.

We ordered our meal and the couple continued to chat with us, until it came. After we finished eating, I had a strong desire to leave. Their insistent questioning was annoying and I needed a nap just listening to them. Zetsu seemed about ready to leave as well and we excused ourselves.

We returned to our room and I flung the heals off and then flopped down on the bed.

"Thank god, I don't have to listen to them anymore." I said.

Zetsu nodded and walked over to the bed, but before he could sit down, the door opened and I cursed.

"Well, did you see anything?" Jack asked.

"No, the only thing I saw was over privileged, talkative people." I said.

He nodded picking up on my irritation.

"Don't worry, once we get to the hotel, you can stay in your room until the couple show up." He said.

"Fine." I mumbled from the pillow.

Jack excused himself and then left. I sat up and Zetsu watched me get my bag.

"I need to get out of this thing." I murmured, gesturing to the dress.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back over to him before I could go. He kissed me and I closed my eyes. He moved one hand over to my back and the other to my chin. He licked my bottom lip and this time I opened my mouth slightly. He slid his tongue in and kissed me passionately.

I brought my hands up to his chest and allowed him to continue. The hand on my back traced little circles and the one on my chin moved to the back of my head, so that he had better access to my mouth.

I moaned and pulled away panting. He growled and pulled me back up to him, leaving kisses along my jaw and neck. My legs started to buckle and he backed me over to the bed. He leaned over me and ran his tongue over the hickey on my neck that he had made earlier.

I froze and whimpered uncertainly, my hands being restrained. He stopped after noticing that I was tense. He hadn't even realized that he had pinned my arms up above my head. He released his grip and buried his face into my neck.

I brought my hands down and tried to fix the dress. It had fallen down and was showing a little too much cleavage. My breathing evened out and I calmed down, wrapping my arms around his back. We stayed like this for a while before he picked me up and walked me into the bathroom.

He set me down on the counter and I watched him curiously. He reached around my back and pulled on the zipper, the one thing that was holding the dress up. I tensed and turned a dark shade of red.

"Is it **alright?**" he asked, stopping his hand motion.

I nodded and he continued to pull the zipper down. He lifted my arms and I held them up for him. He pulled the dress up, until it was off, not taking his eyes off my face. I brought my hands back down to cover myself, since I wasn't wearing a bra. His eyes trailed down with my quick motion and I tightened my hold, insecure.

He brought his eyes back up and leaned in to kiss my lips. I shyly kissed him back, still covering my chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me towards him tightly. The action made me let go of my chest and I immediately wrapped my arms around his back to keep myself hidden.

"**Don't hide**." he murmured huskily, nudging my neck.

I whimpered and continued to press myself against him. He stopped and picked me up, walking back into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed and held me in his lap. He touched my side and I jumped, looking at him nervously.

Zetsu pulled my hands away, not breaking eye contact and I kissed his lips tenderly. She barely made any contact with him, it was all very subtle and gentle, as though she was afraid she would hurt him. He groaned into the kiss and held my waist, brushing his fingers along my hip bones.

I suppressed a moan and he pulled away from me, looking away.

"Sorry." I said, thinking I had done something wrong.

"**Don't be sorry.**" he said hoarsely, facing me again.

He lifted me off of him and then set me on the bed. If he continued the actions then he wouldn't be able to hold back. The plant man walked into the bathroom and took a shower. I climbed under the covers and curled up, wondering why he had stopped. I didn't know much about these kinds of things.

When he came back out about thirty minutes later, I was still up, touching the bed lightly with my fingertips.

"What did I do wrong?" I asked.

"**Nothing."** He said.

I looked kind of hurt and he realized that she honestly believed she was at fault for his leaving. Which in a way she was, but it wasn't something she had done consciously. His body had reacted to her proximity and he hadn't wanted to scare her or make her shy away from him, so he had retreated.

"I just don't want to **further** things **today**." Zetsu said. I frowned and rolled over, not believing him.

He sighed and walked over, getting into the bed next to me. She had gotten into her usual sleeping attire and taken down her hair while he was in the shower and he felt slightly disappointed.

He pulled me against his side and wrapped an arm around me soothingly. We both fell asleep not long after.

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At around five in the morning the boat docked in the hidden mist. Had we just taken the dragon, we could have made it before dark, but the boat made detours and stopped for the night. A maid knocked on the door and told us the boat had stopped.

I rolled over and looked at the clock.

"Five." I groaned, sitting up.

Zetsu got up as well and I picked up my stuff getting ready to go. He did the same and then we walked out of the room. Jack intercepted us in the hallway and handed us our room key

"You're free to do as you like, until the culprits show their faces." He said.

I nodded and took the keys. We walked onto the shore and I felt slightly nervous. This part of the island was extremely misty and almost nothing could be discerned. We followed the crowd to the hotel and I was slightly surprised by its luxury. It had about ten floors, but expanded about a football field in width.

We continued into the building and I wasn't surprised to see all of the magnificent architectural designs. The ceilings were vaulted, there were many wall to ceiling windows and the floors were immaculately tiled. The whole set up was kind of overplayed.

We walked up the stairs to the fifth floor. Our room was at the end of the hall and more secluded than the others. We opened the door and I was surprised by the size of the room. The fist part of the room had a coffee table and couches set up. Further on was the master bedroom, which contained a huge king sized bed that could accommodate at least four people. I set my stuff down on the dresser and walked around the corner.

There was a huge bathroom, with a walk in tub that was as big as the bed. The shower was off to the side, but the weird thing was, there were no doors. I frowned at the shower, what was the point of having a shower if there wasn't going to be any privacy. There was not door to the bathroom either and I blushed realizing the situation. The only door in the room led to the toilet, which I was glad about, at least I could hold some dignity.

Zetsu walked around the corner and inspected the area as well.

"Why aren't there any freaking doors?" I questioned.

"This is a couple's hotel, it's meant to be **open and non private**." Zetsu told me.

I sighed and walked out of the room, walking to the window. This side of the building had a huge view of the entire hotel and I realized why Jack had chosen this particular room. We could literally see everything from the window, the guest restaurant, the swimming pool, the park and the front of the building.

I picked up my bag again and walked over to one of the dressers, planning to put my things away. I opened it up and found that it was already stocked. It was full of men's apparel and I walked over to the other dresser and found women's apparel. I closed the drawers and then just settled for putting my bag on top of the dresser.

I walked back over to the window and peered put, looking for any suspicious persons. Zetsu came up behind me and did the same. His breath fanned across my neck and I was having problems doing my job. I backed away from him with red dusting my cheeks.

"Maybe we should split up." I told him.

"Alright." He said.

I walked out of the room and down to the reception area. People were laughing and chattering about unimportant things and I got in a conversation with a few of them, just to blend in.

After staying in the reception area for a good ten minutes, I walked outside to the guest restaurant. I sat at the bar and ordered a lemonade and then peered around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and I sighed, this was going to be difficult. The couple could be anyone in this room; all they had to do was act, similar to what Zetsu and I were doing.

I turned around and just focused on my drink instead, if something happened I would hear it. A tall guy with black hair and pale green eyes sat next to me. I glanced over at him as he ordered a drink. He was sitting uncharacteristically close to me and I scooted over.

"So, what brings you here and without a date?" he questioned.

"I was just thirsty and my husbands taking a shower." I lied, smoothly.

"Ah." He said, still intent on me.

'Why the hell is he still into me?' I thought. I told him I was married, wasn't that an instant turn off?

I turned my seat a little, so that my back was to him, as I continued to scan around the room.

"Looking for something?" He asked.

"My husband." I said, getting irritated.

"Ah, well maybe he isn't right for you, leaving you here by yourself." He said.

I ground my teeth, what was this guy stupid or something? Can't he get a hint?

"What about you? Why are you here by yourself?" I asked, trying to get the questions off of me.

"My girlfriend left me." He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said.

"Nah, don't be she wasn't right for me." He said

Zetsu watched the area from his vantage point and then paused when he saw me, walk into the restaurant. The guy that sat next to her made him frown, but she didn't even spare him a second glance. The guy was persistent though and it angered him slightly, that another male was flirting with her.

"Well, it was nice talking with you." I said, trying to leave.

"Wait; let me buy you another drink." He said.

A couple wearing hoodies walked into the building and I sat back down. They looked kind of suspicious.

"Alright." I told him.

I turned around and faced him, thinking that I should be at least a little courteous. He smiled and I gave him a small smile as well. If he wasn't trying to hit on me, I might have liked this guy, simply because he was laid back and nice. He ordered me a lemonade and I looked over to the couple again, missing the slight signal the guy made.

"So, since I'm getting you a drink, do I have the privilege of knowing your name?" He asked.

"Only if you give me yours." I said.

"I'm Ren." He said.

"My name is Utsukushi." I told him.

"That's a fitting name." he said, leaning closer to me.

I felt uncomfortable and leaned away. The drink came and I sipped at it, trying to get some distance from Ren. The drink tasted fine at first, but after a few sips I was feeling weird. He leaned in again and I tried to pull away. A hand touched my shoulder and I glanced over, my eyes heavy.

Zetsu was leaning over me and Ren backed up.

"Hhhiiii." I said, slurring the word, glad that Zetsu was here.

Zetsu frowned at me, what had she drunk? He glanced over at the drink and then at the man next to her and had to keep from growling.

"Hey, who are you?" The guy asked.

"Her **husband**." He said

The guy looked shocked and backed off.

"Let's go." He whispered.

I stood up and had to hold onto Zetsu, because whatever I had just ingested was making me loopy. Zetsu picked me up wrapped my legs around his waste, carrying me out of the restaurant.

"Whatttt was in th-at?" I slurred.

"Probably a **DRD**." Zetsu said, walking up the stairs.

I growled, it was a good thing that Zetsu had come when he did. I had only drunk a little bit of the lemonade, anymore and I might have been passed out on the floor. Zetsu unlocked the door, leaning me against the wall a little.

He walked in and set me down on the bed. I watched him set me down, eyes half lidded. Zetsu leaned down and kissed my forehead and then left me. I fell asleep soon after.

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At around five o'clock in the afternoon Zetsu woke me up.

"I found them." He said.

I sat up and looked out at where he was pointing, from the window.

There was a couple near the pool, attacking another couple. I tested my legs on the floor and found that I could walk. My head had cleared up and I was glad that the drug was out of my system. I walked over to the window and Zetsu watched me.

I opened the window and jumped out, landing on one of the trees near the window. Zetsu tried to grab me as I jumped, but he couldn't reach me. He looked down and saw me hiding in the leaves. He sighed in relief and then passed through the floor, exiting near the ground. I clambered down and walked over to the culprits silently.

It was just a reconnaissance mission, but catching them would be even better. I summoned a few tigers, which slinked into the darkness and circled around them. Zetsu came up next to me and I stepped out, showing myself to the attackers.

It was the blonde couple from the boat and I almost slapped myself. This was ridiculous. They turned around and looked at us.

"Sorry, but since you saw that, I'm going to have to get rid of you." Misaki said.

She threw a kunai at me and I dodged, continuing my advancement. She seemed surprised with my abilities and I realized that she must not have been fighting very high level ninja. She backed up and glared at me. One of the tigers came up and pounced on her. She screamed and fell onto the ground.

Her husband saw this and tried to run, Zetsu reached out and grabbed his foot, coming out of the ground. His mandibles covered his face, adding to the fear. Ryuu screamed and his wife looked over in horror.

"What are you?" She asked, talking about Zetsu.

I walked over and pat the tiger and she noticed my glowing green eyes. She cringed away from me and started groveling.

"Don't kill us!" she said.

I called the tiger off and then picked Misaki up, twisting her arms behind her back. She cried out and I held my grip, the more it hurt the less likely she would be to run. Zetsu was doing the same. The couple that had been attacked earlier got up and ran away, looking fearfully at us. Zetsu and I walked over to the main desk and I kept the tigers with me to intimidate the two.

Jack was standing at the reception area when he saw us. His eyes widened and we showed him the two culprits. The people that were in the room backed away in shock.

"That's them?" He questioned.

"They were beating up a couple by the pool, so I assume so." I said.

He thanked us and then called the mist police. I held Misaki's arms until they arrived and took them. I sighed and looked over at Zetsu. That was too easy for S-class ninja to be assigned. The skill level needed for a mission like this was at most a chunin.

"Thank you, I didn't think you would find them so quickly." Jack said.

"Well they attacked a couple in broad daylight." I said.

"Well anyway, you two are free to stay for as long as you want." He said, smiling at us.

We walked back to our room and I plopped down on the bed. Zetsu ordered room service and then walked over and got into the bed next to me.

"Thank you for earlier." I said.

"Don't take drinks from strangers." He said.

I nodded and then leaned against him. Room service came about a half an hour later with our meals. We ate and then went to sleep.

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I woke up around seven and looked outside, it was light out. I tried to roll over but Zetsu wouldn't let me. He pinned me down and I yipped. He brought me back over to his side and exhaled, cracking an eye at me. His hand moved up and rested from my waste up to my shoulder. I stayed still and tried not to fidget, aware that any movement would have him rubbing against me uncomfortably.

He sat up and removed his hand, leaning over me, like a predator. He leaned down and kissed the area above my breasts. I turned red and sunk farther into the bed, self conscious. He grinned against my chest and then pulled away, getting out of bed.

I looked back outside at the pool and was tempted to go swimming, but I hadn't brought anything to swim in. I glanced at the dresser and then got up. I searched through the drawers until I found the undergarments. I picked up some really stringy things and had to blush. Why would anyone wear these?

I found a two piece that covered more than anything in the drawer and then realized that there wasn't really anyplace to change privately. Zetsu walked out of the bathroom and wrapped his arms around my waste, leaning over me to see what I had.

"Zetsu, I'm going to go change so stay in here." I said quickly.

He nodded and I walked into the bathroom. I stripped off my clothing and put on the swimsuit. I had said that it covered more than anything else, and that was saying almost nothing. The top was about two sizes too small where it was most needed and really stringy in the rest of the areas. I didn't even have that much to hide; it was honestly just that small, covering only the bare minimum around my breasts. The bottoms were a little better, covering at least all of my privates, but the sides were basically just string.

I walked out of the bathroom in a towel and glanced over at Zetsu.

"Do you want to come?" I asked.

"**Fine**." he said.

I waited for him to get dressed and then we walked down to the pool. There was no one there and I was kind of shocked. The pool was nice and since the hidden mist was foggy, you wouldn't get a sunburn.

I took off the towel and then walked around the edge touching the water. Zetsu watched as I stepped into the pool. Once I was submerged I swam over to him. He was still sitting on the side.

He didn't seem interested in coming in the pool, so I swam off. I started summoning animals to swim with me. A polar bear paddled around in the water and Zetsu watched in amusement. The bear stood up and pounced with its front paws, splashing the water and making me laugh.

I summoned Lushirio and he sat at the edge watching me play in the water with the bear. I dove down and Lushirio peered over the edge looking for me. He saw me coming up, but it was too late.

I splashed him and he flicked his tail and sat up. I swam away and he jumped into the water, wallowing after me. After awhile I grew tired of the game and summoned the polar bear away. Lushirio pulled himself out of the water and sat in the sun. I took the top half of my body out of the water and leaned on the edge, watching the bugs and such that were crawling on the leaves.

Zetsu sat up and silently crept into the water. I was so busy watching the insects that I didn't notice he was in the pool until he had his arms around my waste. I jumped and he turned me around smirking at me. I smiled and kissed him. He closed his eyes and I wriggled out of his arms and swam away.

He opened his eyes and swam after me. I managed to evade him for some time before he cornered me in the shallow end. He encircled my waist and pinned me up to the wall, kissing me passionately. I melted into his touch and kissed him back softly.

He leaned closer so that our foreheads bumped and I smiled. I reached up and placed my hands against his shoulders. He picked me up and set me down on the edge of the pool. Walking closer so that he could wrap my legs around his waist.

He leaned in again and kissed me, asking for entrance with his tongue. I opened my mouth and his tongue attacked my mine. His hand wandered around my hips and paused at the string on my side. He ran his hand beneath it and I jumped, recoiling away from him immediately. Not that he had touched anything except for my side.

"Sorry." He said, his gravelly voice making me shiver.

He picked me up again and then walked over to the edge of the pool. I wiggled, attempting to get down, I could walk by myself. He held onto me and picked up a towel wrapping it around my waist, before setting me down on a pool chair. I blinked up at him and he leaned over me, his hair dripping water on my chest.

He leaned down and kissed the water droplets, licking them off of me. I whimpered and he kissed me softly on the neck. I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck and hid my face in his shoulder.

"Let's go." He groaned, picking me up.

He passed into the ground and we ended up back in our room. His hand traced my waist possessively and I sighed. He set me down and kissed me again, slowly backing me up to the bathroom. I hit the cold counter and gasped, opening my mouth. Zetsu wasted no time searching me with his tongue.

I felt dizzy and heavy and I moaned against him. I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck, running my fingers through his hair and he growled. I immediately drew away from him, thinking I had done something wrong again.

"**Don't stop.**" he protested.

I blushed and hesitantly placed my arms back around his neck, running my fingers through his soft hair. He leaned against my neck, enjoying the attention and I laughed.

He wrapped his arms around my waste and placed his lips over my stomach. He let his tongue slip across the area and I whined. He brought his face back up and brushed the hair out of my eyes realizing we were still wet from the pool.

"Can I **continue**?" he asked, huskily and I nodded.

He brought his arm around to my back and pulled on the string. I gasped and brought my hands up. He kept his attention on my face though, trying not to make her nervous. He continued down to my bottoms and gently tugged, testing my reaction. I blushed and crossed my legs but didn't protest.

He slipped the garment off and then brushed my neck. I was embarrassed and tried to hide myself from him as best as I could, unable to look him in the eyes. He picked up my hand and brought it up to his lips, leaving a few butterfly kisses on my knuckles. He squeezed my hand and then walked me over to the bathtub.

He turned on the water and poured the soap into the water, forming multiple bubbles. Then he tugged me closer to him, since she was still self-conscious. He almost snapped as her breasts touched his chest, but kept himself in check. Her blush had spread down her neck and she was hiding against him. She was so innocent.

As soon as the tub was full he picked me up, trying not to scare me and set me in the warm water. I immediately relaxed, realizing I could hide. He brought his hands down and covered my eyes and then slipped off his own swim suit. Scaring her was not his intention and the male body could be frightening. He stepped into the water and sat down. Once he was completely seated, he removed his hand so she could see again.

I saw his swimsuit hung up next to mine and realized that he was naked. I colored crimson and then sunk into the water further. After a moment or two I relaxed again, realizing that he wasn't going to do anything. We relaxed in the water for half an hour.

"Zetsu?" I murmured.

"Hn." He asked, cracking an eye.

"Can we get out now?" I asked.

He nodded and reached over and grabbed the towels that were folded up next to the bathtub. He handed me one and I held it, not entirely sure how I was going to get out without being seen. He closed his eyes again and I wasn't sure if he was just tired or he was giving me some privacy. I stood up and wrapped the towel around myself.

I stepped out of the water and walked out of the room. I found my bag and pulled on something to wear. My stomach growled and I was reminded that I hadn't eaten breakfast.

Zetsu walked out a moment later in his usual attire.

"We should probably go home soon." I said.

"Do you want to?" He asked.

"Yes, although I do like having some privacy here." I murmured, blushing.

He nodded and my stomach growled again. He took my hand and we walked out of the room and downstairs. We walked over to the restaurant that I had been drugged in the night before and sat down. I ordered spaghetti and Zetsu asked for steak.

As we were sitting there, I glanced over at the bar and saw Ren sitting with another woman. I was slightly disgusted; he probably pulled the same trick on every female that sat alone. Zetsu followed my gaze to the man and growled.

The woman stood up and left and Ren looked angry. He stood up and grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her to him. I stood up and walked over, she couldn't defend herself but I could.

Ren looked over and saw my pissed face. He let the girl go and focused his attention on me. He formed a charming smile and I smiled back. He took this for a good sign and let his guard down. As soon as I was in range I pulled my fist back and slammed his face in. He grabbed his face and looked at me in anger.

"That's for drugging me and being an asshole." I said, glaring at the man.

He fell back against the counter and watched me in hatred, no one had stood up to him before I suppose. I turned around and walked back to the table. No one even gave me a second glance.

I sat back down at the table and Zetsu smirked at me. After we finished eating, we went back up to the room. I picked up my bag and Zetsu did the same. It was noon and if we hurried, we could be back by eight o'clock.

Since our mission was over, there was no reason to take the boat. I summoned a dragon and pulled myself up onto the scaly thing. Zetsu got up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

The sky was overcast and windy, so with the weather not being all that great it delayed us another couple of hours. I sighed in disappointment.

By the time we reached Konoha it was six and if we continued we wouldn't get back till ten.

"They aren't expecting us back for a **few more days**." Zetsu said.

"Where do you want to stop?" I asked.

He pointed to the forest just out of Konoha's gates and I landed the dragon. He took my hand and he sunk into the ground.

When we emerged, we were in the hideout that I had first met Zetsu in. The house part wasn't all that big, just containing a small kitchen and bedroom. Zetsu walked into his kitchen are and inspected the fridge. A lot of the items had expired and he had to throw them away. He hadn't been to the building since he first met me, so roughly a year.

I was sitting at the table when he returned carrying two bowls. He handed me one and I thanked him. It was instant ramen, but I wasn't picky about that kind of thing. As we were eating it started to rain and I was glad that we had stopped. Besides I liked this building, it was comfortable and away from everything.

When I was finished, I took the bowl back to the kitchen and washed it. Zetsu wasn't too far behind me, and he reached around my waist to do his bowl. He kept brushing me with his arms and he was basically leaning on my shoulder.

When we were done he put the dishes in the cupboard while I sat down at the table. The rain was starting to pound against the house and it echoed through the rooms, making me nervous. Zetsu walked over to me and lightning cracked. I jumped in surprise and then calmed down once I realized what it was.

Zetsu meandered into the other room and I followed after him. He sat down on the bed and I walked over to him tentatively. He pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around me. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled at the strings in the front of my shirt, trying to get the garment off. Once it was all unlaced he slipped it off and dropped it on the floor.

He lifted me up a little and then pulled off my skirt. I was just in a bra and underwear now and surprisingly I wasn't all that shy. He hadn't done anything thus far to make me anxious and he had been nothing but gentle.

He moved me over to the center of the bed and laid me down. He then sat up and took off his shirt and pants. I blushed and glanced away. He lay down next to me and pulled me up next to him. I wrapped an arm around him and closed my eyes. He sat there and traced my back and neck, occasionally running his fingers through my hair.

"I love you." I murmured quietly.

"I **love you **too." He said.

As I started to drift off, Zetsu's hands started to wander. One hand tracing the hem of my underwear. I moaned half asleep and he growled huskily. He leaned over me and kissed my neck, trailing down to the center of my breasts. I opened my eyes and he kissed my lips slowly, before placing wet open mouthed kisses on my neck.

Once he had thoroughly wetted my neck he pulled the blanket over us and kissed my forehead.

The end 3

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Sorry the ending was kind of gay, but I was getting tired of writing and half assed it. Anyway, this chapter may have sucked too, I don't know. Thanks for sticking around this long :3 Adios~


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